At Your Service
by D0ubleFelix
Summary: Ness has been trapped in the PigMask headquarters for over one hundred years, working as the General. One day, a young boy strays too far from home, and a day later, the boy is the army's new Commander. This goes well, but Ness has to hide important formation of the Commander's origin. He also begins to feel a human emotion he hadn't been able to feel for decades; Love.
1. Prologue

Blood was everywhere. It was spattered against the dusty ground and on the few blades of dried grass surrounding the area. It covered the young boy's cyan and yellow shirt, which was stained from grass and dirt from a long journey. It dripped down his face, the bright red contrasting with the pale, freckled skin. His eyes, which usually shone bright and fiery, were dull and determined, determined to complete the quest he had begun. Almost identical to the blood's colour was his hair, untidy and matted, and granted with a reddish-orange hue.

The boy's name was Claus. The name given to him on the day of his birth, by his mother. The only name he'd ever have, and it was stained with his own blood. It seeped from multiple sources on his body, but came at a nonstop flow from his right shoulder, where his arm once was. All that remained was a tattered mess of torn skin and cracked bone.

He could no longer see from his left eye; it had been clawed at viciously, covering the left side of his face with horrifying gashes. He also couldn't feel his legs; they were most likely broken.

Claus was on the ground now. He managed to open his working eye, dizzy from the impact he had received seconds ago. With a grunt, he used his remaining strength to push himself off the ground with agonizing pain. The pressure on his knees was incredible, he was surprised he could even sit up on them. With his weak sight, he searched the ground for the knife he had brought for defense.

Before Claus could avoid it, he remembered the Drago! The beast's foot came crashing into him from behind, pinning him back down into the dirt. He let out a terrified scream as he felt razor sharp claws piercing through his shirt and into his skin. A fair amount of blood filled his mouth, and he forced himself to spit it out. Claus turned his head and looked up, coming face to face with his opponent, the Drago.

The Drago didn't look normal. She had the usual green scales and sharp teeth, but she was also covered head to toe with technological enhancements that Claus couldn't even begin to recognize. This wasn't a normal Drago. Someone had to be behind this. To the side, Claus was able to catch sight of two quivering littermates, hiding in fear, waiting for their mother to finish off her latest prey. Claus realized the mistake he had made. The Drago had a family, just like he once had.

Before he could think any longer, the nails finally broke the skin and sunk deep into the flesh of his back. Claus couldn't even scream anymore, he just choked. There was so much dust and blood in his mouth, he couldn't make a sound. The Drago howled, as if to say, "Stay away from me and my babies!", before lifting Claus off the ground and throwing him.

Claus patiently waited to hit the ground, but he didn't. It wasn't long before he realized he had been hurled off the side of the cliff. Once the realization came, he hit the ground, back first. In an instant, Claus' entire body went numb. His vision grew blurry, and all he could manage to yell out were only mere squeaks. He took large, gasping breathes in a pathetic attempt to get air in his lungs, but his attempts slowly grew weaker as he began to slip away.

But for some reason, it didn't go black. He just laid there, staring at the sky, his entire body feeling as if it were wilting like a flower. He wasn't able to speak, hear, or think for that matter. His mind had gone entirely blank, and no memories crossed him.

Suddenly, after hours of laying under the sun, a dark figure loomed over him. He could barely hear voices.

"Oi, Dave! Come look at this for a minute! I think Master is gonna like this!" Said the person standing over Claus. Another figure, a taller one, joined them.

"Gee Whiz, is that a human kid, Alec?" Asked 'Dave', the taller one.

"Yep, I think so. He don't look so good." Said 'Alec'. Another voice yelled out from far away, and the two figures straightened immediately and went quiet.

"What are you two over here, for?! We're looking for new chimera subjects not roadkill!" Spat the new voice.

"Master Porky, sir! Me and Dave seem to have found a suitable subject! A human child; he's pretty beaten up, but alive. Fixable, yeah?" Suggested Alec. Silence.

"Well, if he is alive, we can't risk letting a witness go. Take him to the ship, we've got our new Commander." Ordered the one Claus guessed to be Porky. He felt himself being lifted up harshly and carried a short distance, before the sun's heat disappeared and cold, clean air of an inside space surrounded him. Before Claus could inspect anything more, he had already slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 1: The Commander

His eyes shot open, but a bright light from above forced him to close them once more. The boy managed to lift his head. He looked around. He was in a small room, with white, shiny floors and walls. His legs, wrists, and torso were restrained to an uncomfortable stretcher. His shirt was gone, and he noticed it folded up on a table near the back of the room. All over, he felt as if he was laying on pins. Multiple wires and needles punctured his skin, with pieces of medical tape to hold them in place.

What was his name again? Where was he?

"Oh! You're awake." A soft voice came from behind the boy. A middle aged woman wearing a long, white coat appeared before him and looked him over. She didn't smile, her lips just pursed together in a straight line.

"...Awake?" Rasped the boy. The wan rolled her eyes.

"Yes, awake! Are you thick?" She snapped, walking to the right and inspecting a large machine with multiple lines darting across a screen.

"Dr. Calos, please. He's only a child." Came another voice, this time, a man's. Another doctor came into view, a seemingly older man, maybe in his late seventies. The boy noticed that the man's eyes were sunken and full of despair, as if happiness wasn't a valid emotion with him.

"Shut your trap, Andonuts. He's an older one, he can take it." Hissed Calos. The older man shooed her away from the room and sat down on a stool next to the boy. A long silence dragged on, filled only by the whirring and beeping of multiple gadgets and machines.

"Mister...do you know where I am?" Asked the boy, his voice barely a whisper.

"Yes. You are in the laboratories of the PigMask headquarters, dear boy." Andonuts sadly responded, raising a shaking hands to steady his glasses.

"Do you know _who_ I am? I can't seem to remember anything about myself." Asked the boy, voice quaking. It was freezing in the room.

"You are Factory Chimera #84459. You've been malfunctioning, which is why you can't remember anything." Replied Andonuts. The boy sensed he wasn't telling the truth, but took the answer anyways.

The doors suddenly flew open with a loud crash. Two tall figures, one man and one woman, wearing military attire stepped into the room. 84459 was frightened by these two soldiers, mainly by the guns they carried. He noticed an arm band wrapped around the left bicep, with a peculiar symbol on it, which looked like an animal's snout.

"Orders from the Master, Doctor Andonuts. Is the chimera ready, yet? You are required to program him immediately." Instructed the man.

"Very well, tell the Master I'm programming him now, and he will be ready for duty by this evening." Said Andonuts, giving the two soldiers a tired salute. They gave him a curt nod in response and left the room.

84459 savoured the feeling of freedom when the restraints were loosened and be was able to sit up. The first thing be saw was his arm, and his first reaction was to scream. Instead of the flesh and skin arm he thought he had, there was an artificial one, made from metal, wires, and gears.

"Calm down, boy! You've always had that, don't worry." Assured Dr. Andonuts. 84559 stared at him, skeptical.

"I don't feel like I've always had it!" He cried. Dr. Andonuts lifted up a small box-like thing.

"That's because you've lost your memories. This USB stick contains all your past information, I'll download it onto you now. Feel the back of your neck. Do you feel the hole? That's where this USB goes. It will connect to your mind, which is basically a computer, and you'll remember everything about yourself." Explained Andonuts. 84559 wasn't sure what a 'computer' was, but he obliged.

He felt a small prick at the back of his neck, and he shut his eyes tightly.

" _Factory Chimera #84559 programmed successfully. Performing installation of memory_ currently."_

"Now, sir. Do you remember who you are?" Andonuts questioned. There was silence for a few moments.

" _Installation complete."_

"Of course I do, you twat. I'm the Commander. Have I malfunctioned again?" Replied the boy. Andonuts gave a smile, and pulled out a radio.

"Master? He's ready."

* * *

"General!"

Another boy turned around with a furious stare, to see a soldier walking towards him with someone he'd never seen before.

"Haven't I already explained to all of you that you are to call me 'Ness'?" He hissed.

"My apologies, sir. King's orders." Said the soldier.

"I would've thought he would get it right after one hundred and thirty years. Very well, who is this?" Demanded Ness.

"The new Commander, sir. He was just programmed yesterday." Replied the soldier.

"Pleasure to meet you again, General. I wasn't functioning properly yesterday, therefore I had to be reprogrammed. I hope there was no inconvenience?" Said the Commander.

"No, none at all, sir. I've taken care of all responsibilities for the few days you were in the lab." Reported Ness, respectfully bowing his head.

"Excellent. I will be in the planning room, don't disturb me unless it is something important." The Commander ordered, and he walked away.

"Soldier, tell me. You just found him the other day? He acts as if he's been here for ages. " Marveled Ness.

"Yep, we found him all torn up yesterday. Andonuts is a fucking miracle worker, General. The Commander thinks he remembers you from decades back. Remember, you must act like you know him on a personal level. In his mind, you two have been working together for fifty years." Reminded the Soldier.

"Right, a personal level. My thanks, soldier. Dismissed." Ordered Ness. He wondered how difficult this would be. This new guy _seemed_ alright, and also spoke as if he was around Ness' age, fifteen or so. The Commander looked young, however. Maybe he was given age enhancers.

An announcement suddenly came over the intercom.

" _Attention! All combat involved soldiers are required to gather at the stadium in five minutes to discuss raid plans."_

Ness responded to the announcement right away, leading his way through the sudden clutter of soldiers. A great amount of sadness filled him, having to put up with making raid and bombing plans. He didn't want to do it, but he had nowhere else to go.

Every three months or so, the Master would give new orders for a raid. Ness, being the General, was in charge of announcing these. The Commander would then announce routes and schedules.

In seconds, the stadium was filled with the entire combat group, organized in neat lines. Ness made his way to the stage and stood at the center.

"Soldiers! Stand easy!" He announced. The crowd moved synchronized, and each person stood, knees locked, hands behind the back. Ness sighed, and begun.

"Today, our mission extends to the village known as Tazmily! We may have allowed them to stay on the Islands, but we will no longer tolerate it. Tonight, we will force our way into the village and gather all civilians into our ship! If anyone resists, they are to be executed immediately. Spare no one! They will be relocated to our city, and we will show the world that the PigMask's still stand!" He finished, sharply bringing his hand to his forehead in a salute. The crowd of soldiers did the same.

Ness backed away and stood with the line of authority figures at the back of the stage as the Commander took his place at the centre.

"As the General said, we will raid the Village of Tazmily, in the Nowhere Islands. This is our attack route, shown above me. We will start by…"

Ness listened on, each minute growing more agonizing. He'd been dreading the day of this announcement, mainly because the people in Tazmily were so kind, so innocent. Violence of any kind was almost unheard of in the village, but now, they'd have to face tons of it. The Commander's speech went on for nearly thirty minutes, until it finally ended.

"Ahem."

Ness snapped out of his thoughts and glanced up. The Commander, with a tilt of his head, gestured for him to come back to the stage. Ness walked forwards and gave a respectful nod.

"Now that you know our route, I will tell each group which location on the island you will be on. Every soldier who wields guns of some sort, you will drop off on the outskirts of Tazmily. This way, you can catch and execute any villager trying to escape. Any soldier wielding swords or daggers will be in the centre of the village. Hold them at knifepoint and force them onto the ship. Don't be harsh with them; we want them to earn our trust. If anyone asks, just tell them that they are being relocated somewhere safer. We leave at midnight, so stock up your energy and train hard. Stand Salute! Dismissed!"

One by one, each line of soldiers walked out of the stadium. Ness looked over to see The Commander, holding a hand to his forehead. He walked over to him.

"Sir, permission to speak?"

"Granted."

"Are you feeling well?"

"Your concern is appreciated. I just feel slightly lightheaded after that announcement. I've done multiple ones, the same as this, but I don't feel right about it." Admitted the Commander. Ness bit his lower lip.

"Well, this village is a weak one. Maybe you feel sorry for them." He suggested.

"Sorry? For humans? They're practically the scum of the Earth, in my opinion. Chimeras are obviously the higher species, there's no reason for me to feel sorry for those pathetic villagers." Sneered the Commander, putting both hands behind his back.

"Sir, I suggest you watch your tongue. I used to be a human." Threatened Ness. The Commander's eyes went dark.

"Do you wish to repeat that, General? I hope you realize that I am much higher than you in authority, so you have no business in telling me to watch what I say. Even if you were once human, you're not anymore, so leave off." He hissed, before sharply turning around and walking away.

Ness frowned. Oops, he lost his temper again. Talking back to the second in command could get him in serious trouble. Never executed, of course. The king liked him too much for that.

" _General, please report to my office immediately."_

Speak of the devil. He mustered up as much of a good attitude as he could and stalked to the King's office. Inside, most of the room was covered in shadow. The King couldn't be seen, but Ness knew he was there.

"Punctual as always, old friend. Tell me, how did the announcement go?" A deep, oily voice asked from the darkness.

"It went fine, Master. One small problem, I seem to have disrespected the Commander a bit." Said Ness, shamefully. A slight chuckle came from the Master.

"Ah, we all have fights sometimes. Tell me, what do you think of him? Hard to believe we found him just yesterday, yeah?" He rasped.

"Quite unbelievable. Dr. Andonuts certainly outdid himself this time." Responded Ness, grinning a bit. The Master gave a frustrated sigh.

"Yes, but he wasn't good enough to fix _you_ , now was he?" He slurred, a slight taunt in his voice. Ness grit his teeth.

"Well, I'm still working for you, aren't I? I'd say that he fixed me just fine." He hissed, adding more aggression to his voice than he should have.

"But you don't like working here, do you? A hundred and thirty years ago, your destiny was to save the world. Now, you're assisting me in destroying it."

"Of course I don't like it, but what else can I do? My whole family is gone, my friends are dead, and I should've died years ago! I've been fifteen for ages, now!"

"I just wanted to preserve our friendship."

"We don't have a friendship. We never did. The only reason I hung out with you back in Onett was because I felt sorry for you. I couldn't care about you now even if I tried, though. Because of you, I've forgotten what caring is anymore!" Snapped Ness.

"Watch it, General. You wouldn't want to lose your temper again, now would you? I can add another scar to your neck, if you want." Threatened the Master, raising his voice slightly. Ness put a shaking hand to his neck, gingerly tracing his finger along the scar that ran from his jaw down to his collarbone. Last time he talked back to the Master like that, he had been locked in one of the Chimera-Drago's cages, without a weapon to defend himself.

"N...no, sir. My apologies." Said Ness, his voice quiet. Although he couldn't see the Master, he knew that the usual sickening grin had crossed his face.

"Good boy. Now, off with you. You have a raid tonight."


	3. Chapter 2: The Lucas boy

"Civilians! Please allow us to assist you, we mean no harm whatsoever!" Ness yelled. The chaos of terrified villagers calmed a bit.

"What do you plan on doing with us?!" Shouted a young woman, clutching a shaking girl close to her.

"We only wish to relocate you to a safer place. You have my word that each of you will return home safely." Promised Ness. It broke his heart, knowing the promise would never be kept.

"Why do we need to go to a safer place?" Asked the young girl next to the woman. Ness softened his gaze.

"That information is classified, I'm afraid. But I promise nothing will happen to you. I'll make sure of it." He assured, giving her a weak smile. The girl even managed to smile back at him.

The load in was easy. Every villager agreed to board the airship, with no resistance. A soldier paced by the trembling crowd as the ship began to lift into the air, clipboard in hand. She began to read off names from the board for a role call. Every name call was met with a "here" or the raise of a hand. Everything went smoothly, until she reached the end of the list.

"Lucas?" She called. No answer. A chorus of shocked murmurs came from the villagers.

"I repeat, is there a 'Lucas' here?" Asked the soldier. More silence.

"Is there a problem?" Asked Ness, approaching the soldier. She flipped through the pages and scanned the crowd nervously.

"Th...there seems to be a missing villager. His name is Lucas." She stammered.

"Shit...I'll call the gun squad." Said Ness. He ran to the back of the room where a radio was. He typed in the channel name quickly and picked up the receiver.

"This is the General, contacting the Escape Squad! I repeat, the Escape Squad! Have you seen any out of place villagers? We are missing one! Over!" He demanded.

"I'm afraid not, sir. Over." The staticky voice replied. Ness whipped around to glare at the crowd of people. He began to pace back and forth, glancing at them every once in awhile.

"I'm sure at least one of you will have an answer for me. Where is this 'Lucas' boy?" He hissed. Silence, except for a few frightened whispers. On the inside, Ness was happy this boy had escaped. But King's orders said he had to look threatening.

"You!" He shouted, sharply turning around and pointing at a woman wearing a yellow dress and white apron. She nearly fell back in shock. "Can you tell me where he is?" Ness asked with a honeyed voice.

The woman searched for an answer, lip shaking, for a few moments, before a deep voice near the back spoke up.

"I don't know where he is, but Lucas is my son. An' lemme tell you this; Y'all ain't never gonna find him!"

Ness caught sight of an older man near the front left of the group, wearing a hat that covered the top half of his face. Ness growled and narrowed his eyes.

"I wouldn't speak in a disrespectful tone like that if I were you!" He spat.

"I don't have to respect you if I don't wanna! Y'all ain't never gonna find Lucas! That boy's smarter than all you soldiers combined!" The man shot back. At the point, two soldiers already had a grip on the man's arms, and were dragging him away. Loud chatter and a few terrified screams filled the room.

"They're gonna kill Mr. Flint!" Sobbed a young boy.

"No! They're just taking him to a different place, that's the extent of it." Responded Ness. He wasn't completely lying; they were taking the man to a jail cell. Despite his efforts to calm them down, the crowd still continued to buzz with whispers of horror and sobs. Ness jogged to the corner of the room, out of earshot, and pulled a soldier aside.

"Soldier 577? Grab five of your best, run a Search and Capture. Find this boy no matter what the cost. We can't have any chances of defeat." He ordered in a quiet voice. The soldier nodded and walked away. Ness sighed, and rubbed his eyes. He was so tired.

"General, I certainly hope that there aren't any problems? You seem quite stressed."

Ness jumped and spun around to meet the stern gaze of the Second in Command.

"C...Commander, I…!" He sputtered.

"You will find this 'Lucas' boy, yes? Unless you want consequences?" The other threatened, eyes almost as fiery as his hair. Ness bowed his head.

"Think nothing of it, sir. The boy will be found and jailed." He assured.

"He mustn't be jailed, you bloody twat! Lucas must be destroyed! Did you not know he had potential of learning PSI?" The Commander snapped, advancing on the General. Ness took a step back, putting a hand to the handle of the sword he had strapped to his side in defense.

"I'm afraid I only just learned of his disappearance, sir…! Not but five minutes ago…!" Stammered Ness. He wondered why The Commander was getting so worked up about it. PSI wasn't that big of a deal, was it?

"If he realizes PSI, he could learn the ability of PK Love. And if he does that, our mission will crumble!"

"Our...mission, sir?"

"Idiot! The mission to unleash the Dark Dragon's power, to pull the needles! Did you not hear about that?"

Ness suddenly remembered the Master speaking of the Dark Dragon before, and his desires to unleash it, and use its power to make the army stronger. He didn't recall the project actually being confirmed, however.

"I...uh…" He stumbled on his words, but was quickly interrupted.

"Never mind, I guess I should consider you too simple to understand. Just find that kid! Shoot him, stab him, blow him up for all I care! Just make sure you catch him before his PSI activates!" The Commander ordered, wings flared.

"Yes sir!" Replied Ness. He sighed in relief as the redhead stalked away. Why was he getting so panicky about it? Whoever that kid was, he probably wouldn't even come close to realizing the power of PK Love, or be able to pull the needles all together.

One question poked at him. How did the Commander know that Lucas had PSI potential in him? Could he sense it? He _was_ injected with cat genes, so he could sense things like PSI auras really well.

"Claus!"

A young boy, maybe 10 years old, was staring at the Commander with wide eyes.

"Look, dad! It's Claus! I told you he wasn't dead! He's right there!" The boy yelled.

"Fuel, hush up! That ain't Claus, Flint said he was dead at the Plateau. He just looks a lot like him." An older man said, presumably the boy's father.

"You father is correct, young man. I am not the one you call 'Claus'." Said the Commander, walking slowly towards the crowd.

"Yes you are! I know it's you! Claus, I know where your brother went! I was just too scared to say earlier!" Insisted Fuel.

"My brother?"

"Yeah! You know, Lucas!"

Realization suddenly hit Ness like a train. The Commander _was_ Claus. He must've lived in Tazmily before he was found! That was why he seemed squeamish earlier when talking about battle plans. And the boy Lucas must've been his brother, so that was how he knew about the PSI!

Ness began to feel incredibly nauseous. He quickly ran out of the loading area and to the main dock. He had to get to the Lab. The laboratory was on the second floor, so within seconds, he spread his wings and lifted himself to the door. A few audible gasps could be heard. It was very rarely Ness ever used his wings.

He swung open the door to see an old man sitting at a desk, tinkering with something, his snow white hair matted and fingers shaking.

"Jeff!"

Jeff Andonuts turned, and upon seeing Ness, his face lit up.

"Old friend! How are you?"

"Not very well. I have a question about our new Commander."

Jeff's smile fell, and he steadied his glasses.

"I'm afraid I can't reveal too much about him, but I will answer what I can. What it is you wish to know?" He obliged. Ness sat down on a nearby chair.

"Is it true that he was once a human?" Ness asked. A small flash of fear showed in Jeff's eyes for no more than a second, then he sighed.

"You found out about Claus, didn't you?"

"I'm afraid I did."

"Really...Well, yes, he was once a young human boy named Claus. And judging by the memories we managed to extract from him, he lived in the village you raided tonight." Jeff explained solemnly. Ness looked down sadly.

"So you took him from his home?"

"Negative. He was found dead."

"But you could have brought him back to life!"

"And let him go, as a witness?"

"At least someone would know about this army, Jeff! You and I have been trapped here for dozens of years! Don't you want to escape at all?" Quizzed Ness, looking his friend in the eyes daringly. Jeff went quiet for a moment. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it.

"I...well, what would I do if I escaped?" Jeff murmured.

"Huh?"

"Ness, look at me. I should be dead, and so should you. But...you were given age blockers when you were fifteen. You're going to be young forever. But...well, I don't even know how old I was when they gave me the blockers. Eighty, maybe? I can barely move by myself, so what would I do in the outside world?" Jeff questioned, turning to look outside the window above his desk.

"I'll take care of you! You're my best friend, Jeff! I'd do anything to grant your happiness!" Ness insisted, reaching over to grab his friend's shriveled hand.

"Oh, I lost my ability to feel happy years ago. Ness, face it. My life is practically over. The only reason the Master is keeping me alive is because I'm an amazing scientist, whom no one else can match." Pointed out Jeff. Ness smirked a little.

"You still have that ego, after all this time." He teased. Both friends laughed a bit. They spent the next little while catching up and chatting, before they were startled and thrown by the ship's sudden stop. Ness threw a protective arm over his friend to make sure he didn't fall over. What was going on?

"You okay?" He asked quickly. Jeff gave a small nod, and Ness jumped to his feet. He ran to the balcony above the main dock, and looked down. A small group of combat soldiers were scrambling into position. Next to them was The Commander.

"Sir, what's going on? Why did the ship stop?" Ness called as he jumped over the railing and floated down, before hovering over the ground for a bit and dropping to his feet.

"That Fuel boy was very helpful. Lucas has been found." The Commander responded in a satisfied voice. Ness was taken aback by the bloodthirsty look in his eye. It broke his heart as well, knowing that the target was The Commander's brother. Who he wanted to destroy. Suddenly, three soldiers ran up in a horrified panic, panting and gasping for air. Their armor was either cracked, burned off, or broken. Each had multiple burn marks and scratches. Ness recognized them as the rescue team he had sent out a few hours ago.

"G...general! We found Lucas…! But he was with some other people! A girl, maybe in her twenties, and an older man…! Once we confronted them, they...they caught us completely off guard! Lucas has already realized PSI abilities! He wasn't the problem, though...the girl...she was obviously an expert! Within seconds, Soldiers number 538 and 996 were d...dead! We barely made it out alive…!" Breathed one of them, number 763, gasping and coughing in between sentences.

"Dead? 538 and 996 were two of our best! They achieved the highest score in combat training!" Exclaimed Ness. 763 nodded in agreement, before dropping to the floor. The Commander growled a bit, before turning to Ness.

"General, we cannot let this boy become a problem. Especially if he has teamed up with that expert of a girl. If this team was able to defeat our two best soldiers, they're obviously something to be concerned about. I'm going after him myself." He decided, turning and walking in the other direction. Ness followed, confused.

"Sir, if I may intrude on your plan…! I understand your confidence in yourself, and I trust you could defeat them 100%! But I can't let you do that alone." He fret, placing a worried hand on the other's shoulder.

"I promise you that I am capable of handling this myself! What makes you think I can't?" The Commander asked, stopping and shrugging away Ness' hand.

"Because I am your General. It is my duty to protect you under any cost, sir. And I'd like to stick to that duty; I will arrange a group of soldiers to go with you whether you like it or not. I am forever at your service." Said Ness, putting both hands behind his back respectfully. The Commander stared at him for a moment, his eyes full of denial and annoyance. But eventually, his gaze softened, and sighed.

"Always loyal, as usual, comrade. Fine, have it your way, arrange a group. Even if I tell you not to, you'll do it anyways. Watch over the ship while I'm gone." He ordered. Ness gave him a quick salute, then made his way to a nearby intercom. He picked up the receiver, and pressed the button on the side.

"Soldiers numbered from 340 to 355, report to the unloading dock immediately! You will assist your Commander in defeating the Lucas boy!" He ordered, his voice echoing throughout the large room. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the soldiers he called scrambling to get to the unloading dock.

"Reporting to your duties all high and mighty as usual, I see, Ness."

A shrill, familiar voice causes Ness to turn around. He recognized the blonde hair, the blue eyes, the kind smile.

"How've you been, Paula?" He asked her. Paula Polestar, like Ness, had been captured by the Master as well and given age blockers at 15 so she could forever serve as a soldier. She shrugged a bit and gave him a smug grin.

"Miserable, as always. But seeing your face again gave me at least a little happiness." Paula commented.

"Oh, don't tease me. Walk with me, I want to talk." He said. Paula joined him at his side as they began to walk in a random direction.

"So, Mister General. Is tonight's mission going well?" She asked in her usual brash, cocky tone.

"No, actually. Our entire army is in danger." Ness responded, a bit of a joking tone in his voice. Paula chuckled.

"Good." She nudged. Ness grinned at her, and laughed a little. Paula had always been his closest friend, even closer than Jeff. Her happy-go-lucky, brightside personality always cheered him up in the darkest of times. He even remembered having a small crush on her back when they were humans. Paula knew this, but Ness always denied when she mentioned it, flustered.

"So, Polestar. Have you found any ways of escaping, yet?" Asked Ness, lowering the volume of his voice. He and Paula had been planning their escape for years, but never found a way to do it. She shook her head sadly.

"I'm afraid not, but there's no point in not trying." She dismissed.

"I don't understand how you do it. Always managing to stay happy in these situations."

"Well, I heard that the name 'Paula' in Tazmilian from the villagers means 'Always looking ahead'. I guess I'm just good at finding the bright side."

"Yeah, well 'Ness' in Tazmilian means 'fire'."

"How'd you know that?"

"I was programmed with ten languages, one of them being Tazmilian."

"Fancy. Say something in Spanish."

" _Yo odio este maldito trabajo._ "

"What does that mean?"

"I love this job."

* * *

It was about a month later. The Commander's quest to find Lucas had failed, surprisingly. This, however, left him in an incredibly salty mood. Even more than his usual mood. The villagers were slowly growing used to life in New Pork City, and this pleased the Master.

Ness was sitting at his desk, looking over a map and circling possible routes for the next bombing. Every once in awhile, instead of raiding, the Master ordered for more powerful cities to be bombed. Ness hated bombings even more than raids. The radio on his desk vibrated, and a staticky voice called to him.

"General, you must come to the Aid Room quickly! The Commander was been hurt!"

Ness stood up so quickly, he nearly knocked over his chair. He responded with a quick reply through the radio, and ran out of his room. On the way out, he grabbed his uniform from a hook and practically jumped into it. He sprinted as fast as he could down the hallway and threw himself over the balcony, landing safely on his feet on the main floor. He then flung open the door to the Aid Room and skidded to a halt upon seeing his authority figure lying on a stretcher, eyes closed, and a nurse leaning over him.

"How is he? What happened? Will he die? Will we have to reprogram him?" Ness practically smothered the poor nurse in questions, but the nurse didn't stop him from doing so, for she understood that his main priority was to protect the Commander.

"General, he just got a little scratched up in a battle. Two of the lab baby dragos escaped their cage, and the first thing they attacked was the Commander. He eventually managed to calm them down, but not before some major blood loss and deep wounds. Funny, our drago chimeras are normally gentle around us. I can't believe they attacked him." Explained the nurse. He walked to a monitor to observe the Commander's artificial heartbeat, to make sure it was normal.

"Will he be alright?" Asked Ness. The nurse laughed.

"Absolutely! These kinds of injuries are like child's play to him, he said to me." The nurse laughed. Ness sighed in relief. He jumped as the Commander suddenly began to stir.

"Hmm...General, why are you here?" He murmured, voice slurred and raspy. Ness grit his teeth, a wave of guilt flooding over him.

"Your Highness… I...I'm sorry! It is my job to protect you, a simple job, and I let you get hurt like this…! If I can't keep that duty, I'm not fit to be a general…" Gasped Ness.

"Please calm down. You've been my General for fifty years, and you've never failed me. This was a mere accident, on my behalf." Assured the Commander. Ness was slightly surprised by his soft tone, but guessed it was because of stress and being tired.

"But…!"

"Hush. You can't protect me from everything."

"But I could've!"

Ness didn't know why he was so upset over this. He didn't actually care for his Commander's safety, but it was his job. It had been his job to protect the previous one as well, but that one had died. He didn't care, he didn't care…It was his job, that was the whole extent. He was supposed to be concerned...

"I truly wonderful why those young dragos would attack me, however." The Commander said. The nurse nodded in agreement.

"They are trained to be violent against enemies, it's very confusing. I was there, during the attack. The minute you got into view, they went ballistic. My theory is that they are very troubled. Poor things, their mother was attacked a while back. Perhaps they mistook you for her attacker." The nurse suggested.

"That's most likely what happened, you're probably correct." Responded Ness.

"I guess so. Anyways, am I fit to go?" The Commander asked, beginning to sit up. Before the nurse could even answer, Ness gingerly placed both hands on his shoulders and laid him back down.

"Please rest. I will take care of any duties today, but please." Begged Ness. The Commander raised an eyebrow, but sighed and settled back down. Ness swore he saw a small flicker of a teasing grin on his face, but it could've been his imagination.

"Very well. Nurse, please leave the room. I want to discuss something with the General." Said The Commander. The nurse bowed slightly, and hurried out of the room. Ness' heartbeat quickened. Was he in trouble?

"General, I'd like to thank you."

Ness' eyes widened.

"Th...thank me, Your Highness?"

"Yes. Despite how cold and cruel I may be, I am still a living thing, and all living things need support. Even me. You have been incredibly faithful to me, more faithful than anyone has ever been. I've lost soldiers, nurses, and Captains in my fifty years of living, but you've stayed at my side ever since I was manufactured. I'd like to admit this; thank you." The Commander finished. It seemed like it was physically painful for him to say every word in his entire explanation.

"Sir, I...I don't know what to say! Of course I've stay at your side for the past mont-I... I mean fifty years!" Ness responded. He suddenly felt as if he really had known the Commander for that long. He felt the connection.

"I have to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Can you promise me you'll continue to be at my side? You'll continue to protect me under any circumstance?"

Ness smiled, and gave him a salute.

"Absolutely, I promise. I am forever at your service."


	4. Chapter 3: You Can't Feel Anything

Things were different between Ness and his Commander after the heartfelt discussion they shared. Days passed, and turned into weeks, which turned into months. The Commander had been with the army for officially six months. The case of Lucas had been dismissed; it turned out it wasn't his female companion who killed two of the army's soldiers, it was a drago that Lucas had commanded to kill. Lucas also thankfully hadn't realized his psychic powers yet, but he was still nowhere to be found. The Master closed the whole mess, saying that it was a waste of time, and that Lucas was probably dead at this point.

Ness was currently outside of the army's underground headquarters, sitting at the top of a tree. It was funny, he thought. He could easily get up and run away, escape this life. Sometimes, he just wanted to grab Paula and Jeff and run away. Paula was always up for it, but Jeff refused to leave. Ness refused to leave as well until Jeff agreed to come.

He was grateful he still had his old friends. God knows what happened to Pu, a friend he shared adventures with in the past. Pu was the prince of a faraway country, and was able to escape the Master. He was probably dead. So was Tracy, his sister. And his Mum. And his Dad. Sometimes, Ness was close to throwing himself off a building or slit his own throat, just to get away from this miserable excuse of a life and see his family in the afterlife. But he couldn't just leave Paula and Jeff behind like that. They were all he had.

"Hey, Army boy!"

Ness didn't even need to look at who was calling for him. He knew it was Paula, and he already heard her boots scraping against the side of the tree and she began to climb up. Within seconds, she was next to him on the closest branch. When Paula was turned into a chimera, she was injected with cat genes, like the Commander. Therefor, she was incredibly gifted in climbing things.

"Hiya, Paula. What brings you up here?" He asked, snapping a piece of a branch off from above him and seeing how far he could throw it.

"I dunno, just wanted to see you. I also wanna tell you about the rumors." She sneered. That got Ness' attention.

"What rumors?" He fret.

"Well, all of the soldiers are talking about how weird you've been acting lately." She gave an example.

"I've been acting weird?"

"Well, yeah. You're constantly smiling, and you get all fidgety everytime someone talks to you. See, you're doing it right now!" Paula gestured to Ness' hands. He was moving his fingers around and such.

"That's…! Just a habit!" He said.

"You never did it before. You seem to have loosened up; you're less harsh with everyone, you take problems less seriously. We think it has something to do with the Commander." She suggested.

"Explain?"

"We all think you fancy him." Paula answered, a taunting smirk on her face. Ness broke the branch he had in his hands and turned to her, nearly falling out of the tree.

"Lies!" He cried, jabbing her in the arm with his finger. Paula laughed.

"I don't think so. You were so sophisticated and organized before he came; now you're...well, you're back to your old self. Quirky, fun, awkward...you relate to him, don't you?" She hinted. Ness almost began to protest, but stopped. He _did_ relate to the Commander. He knew what it was like to be under impossibly high standards by the Master. Once in awhile, the Commander would come back from the Master's office after a raid failure with a new bruise or bloody lip. Ness suffered from the same punishment when he didn't meet all of the requirements for a standard.

"Yeah, I do." He responded, "It's just...the way he looks at me. He looks at everyone else with this cold, blank stare. But with me...it's as if he cares about me in some way." Ness explained, his voice quiet and bashful.

"Aww, you're adorable. And you sound so embarrassed! I think this is all a good thing. Porky wasn't able to remove our memories, but he managed to make it nearly impossible to feel human emotions. The fact that you're able to like someone is awesome!" She praised.

"I don't 'like' him. I connect with him on a deep level." Ness corrected. In truth, he didn't know if what he was feeling was love, friendship, or relation. He considered that what he was feeling was a mixture of all three.

"Nonsense, you totally do. And you know what? I think you should tell him." Paula stated.

"What are you, mad? If I told him, he'd kill me! And I'm not exaggerating! He nearly stabbed me when I told him I liked his hair one time!" He cried.

"Chill out, buddy. I'm joking," Snickered Paula. She slid off of her branch and landed safely on her feet at the bottom of the tree, "I have to go to a training session. Have fun with your love life." And she ran back into the headquarters. Ness hugged his knees to his chest. He really was in love with the Commander, wasn't he? There wasn't any other explanation.

He hadn't felt love in so long, he practically had forgotten how it felt at all. But it was often described as a warm feeling that made you feel happy and nice, but also destroyed you from the inside at the same time. And that was how he felt, so that was that.

"Oi, General? You need any help getting down from there? You're required at the Master's office." A soldier's call snapped Ness out of his thoughts. He leaned over and shook his head.

"My thanks for your concern! I'm coming down, hold on." He responded. Ness scooted off of the branch, and just before hitting the ground, he spread his wings, hovering over the grass for a moment before dropping to his feet. He nodded to the soldier, who saluted and ran off.

Once at the Master's office, he put a hand on the doorknob. He then hesitated, a sudden feeling of dread washing over him. Something bad just happened. He forced himself to enter the office anyways.

"Master?" Ness called. As usual, the Master was hidden in shadows, with only his feet visible, they were crossed on top of his desk.

"Wonderful just on time. I have something I'm concerned about. Please, sit." Offered the Master. Ness closed the door nervously and made his way to a chair in the centre of the room.

"What is it you'd like to discuss?"

"There's a rumor I managed to listen in on."

Ness' heart dropped to the floor, and he found himself unable to breathe for a slight moment.

"Um...a rumor?" He squeaked, bare able to project his voice.

"I own you, Nestley. I know everything about you. You are my slave, and always will be. But I can't remove _all_ of your emotions, and I most definitely can't remove your little _crush_." The Master replied. Ness felt a shiver go down his spine upon being called his birth name. He swallowed and began to reply, but was interrupted.

"Yes, I know how you feel about Claus. But don't worry; your secret's safe with me. I think it's kinda cute, heh heh. But I think you and I both know the consequences if he falls in love with you." Reminded the Master.

"Y...yes." Ness stammered. If the Commander ever learned how to love, he'd be destroyed on the spot.

"He doesn't remember anything about his past life. If he learns what love is, he'll remember everything. His friends, his family, his childhood, everything. So I want you to take your feelings and lock them up." Said the Master.

"But, sir…!"

"What?"

"Um...well...that's not entirely how love works. If you truly feel a connection with a person, then there's no controlling your feelings for them. If the Commander feels that connection towards me, then he falls in love with me. Even if I keep my feelings hidden; how he feels is completely up to him." Ness explained. The Master clicked his teeth a few times.

"Oh, my dearest boy," He cooed, sadly, "I wish I could believe you. Why would I trust your knowledge on love? You barely even know how to feel anything anymore."

As if a button had been pressed that would trigger it, Ness felt every last bit of confidence he had drain from his body. _You barely even know how to feel anything anymore._ As he left the office and closed the door behind him, he simply stood in front of the threshold in a trance. The Master was right; Ness was just an empty shell, a reflection of who he used to be. He felt a sudden sting in his eyes that seemed familiar.

Then he felt the tears. Ness hadn't cried since he was captured long ago. He had forgotten the horrible feeling, and how weak it made him feel. Before, he was so abnormally happy. He had been able to feel love! An actual positive emotion! But none of that even mattered, now. Not wanting anyone to see him like this, he covered his face and sprinted to his room, almost breaking the door when he slammed it shut. He paced around his room angrily for a while, tearing at his hair and wiping away any tears that managed to escape his eyes.

Then, he turned, and saw himself in the mirror that was on his door. An image he had forgotten to check in a while. Ness had almost forgotten what he looked like. Pale skin that almost looked pure white, with raven hair that was required to be styled with a distinct part on the side and slicked back. His natural hair was curly and messy. And his eyes...violet. They used to be so shiny and full of life, but now they were dull and had dark bags surrounding them. His cheekbones were visible, too. He used to be on the chubbier side, but his lack of nutrition caused him to be incredibly skinny, which would have been life threatening if he was still a human.

Goodness...he looked horrible. At least Ness looked decent in his uniform, which was a sharp black suit. He still hated the uniform. It was a symbol of him stooping to the lowest low, joining the army. Once he and his friends escaped, the first thing he'd do was burn the stupid thing.

A knock at the door.

"General, may I enter?"

 _Shit._ It was the Commander. Ness wiped away remaining tears and opened the door. The Commander seemed a bit surprised to see him like this. He nodded in thanks and made his way into the room.

"Are you feeling alright, friend?" He asked.

"Oh! Uh...of course, I just got something in my eye."

"Ah, okay. I'd like to discuss something with you."

"Yes?"

"Your PSI."

Ness stiffened a bit.

"What about it?" He asked carefully. The Commander gestured for Ness to follow him, and they made their way out of the room.

"I've been able to sense your aura; you've obviously been capable of using the powers for a long time, have you not?" He pointed out, as they began to walk.

"Yes, I've been capable of PSI for decades." Confirmed Ness.

"I find it strange that you don't seem to use it that much. I see you use Paralysis when you're training, but that's all. Why is that?"

In the corner of his eye, be saw two soldiers walk past them, one of them being Paula. She glanced at him a smirked upon seeing him with the Commander.

"It's hard to speak of, I'm afraid." Ness replied, looking to the side.

"Care to tell me?"

Ness stopped and looked at the floor. He didn't recall a time someone asked him to tell the unfortunate tale for why he preferred not to use PSI.

The Commander stopped as well, and eyed Ness with a slightly confused glance. "General?"

"My apologies, it's just something I try to forget." Ness replied, looking up.

"Surely you can tell me? Here, come outside with me. You can explain it all." The Commander gestured for Ness to follow, so he did with a sigh. He didn't like telling people, but he could trust the Commander. Perhaps explaining the story could help him let go.

Once they were out of the headquarters and outside, the Commander turned to Ness.

"Right. I'd like an explanation." He ordered, standing at ease, hands behind his back. Ness felt his breath catch, but he relaxed and gave a "might as well" kind of nod.

"So you are very aware of our previous Commander?" He began.

"I never met him, but yes."

"Well, he was a good friend of mine. He had held the position since before I arrived here. Lovely person, he was. He always knew what to do in a situation and how to do it. Far more professional than I'd ever be." Ness explained, smiling at the memory of his past friend. "And as you know, my job is to protect the one in your position. I was happy to fulfill this, of course. But then, one day, we…"

He couldn't find his words. Memory came running into him over and over, and wouldn't stop. "We...we were at a raid. But these villagers actually fought back, unlike Tazmily. I was battling a really strong one, but my PP was really low. I wanted to use my PSI responsibly. When they started drawing blood from me, I panicked and used PK Flash. But this guy, he was wearing something. I think it was a badge, I don't know...it reflected, and...it hit our Commander. We had to evacuate after that, and it was only when we returned to headquarters that I learned that he had been killed from the flash." Ness shut his mouth quickly after explaining the whole story. He didn't want to remember any more of it.

"So that's why you don't use it anymore…" Murmured the Commander, eyes wide.

"I don't want to kill anyone. My one priority that tops everything else is to protect the Second in Command, and instead I fucking killed him…!" Ness cried, hugging himself.

"But that's behind you, now! Why are you worrying so much about the past?!"

"Because I'm a murderer! I'm not fit to be a General!"

"I can't think of anyone else who could possibly fit the role as well as you do!"

Ness paused upon hearing the comment. He looked up to meet the higher up's gaze.

"Pardon, sir?" He asked, loosening up a bit. Once the Commander realized what he had just said, he began to stammer.

"Well, ah...I have to admit, I guess you're an okay General. Not as good as I'd expect, but you get the job done." He corrected himself, his eyes darting about nervously. Ness smirked a bit. His Commander was too _proud_ to actually _compliment_ somebody.

"Are you sure that's what you meant? I heard something else." He teased, feeling a bit better.

"Yes, that is what I meant! Do I look like I'm not being serious?" The Commander snapped, making fists with his hands.

"Well, your face is getting pretty red." Laughed Ness. He actually felt much happier now. It was as if his guilt was suddenly gone.

"I…! Just…! Go check on the training sessions…" The Commander ordered, walking away and into the headquarters. Ness watched him go, still laughing a bit. He sighed hopelessly. Sometimes, he wished he could just tell him all about where he came from and who he really was.

"At your service." He whispered with a smile.


	5. Chapter 4: His Smile

_**Three years after the events of the last chapter.**_

"Oi, General. Have you seen the Commander today? He seems a bit strange, yeah?"

Ness gave a confused glance to the soldier next to him, who was helping him reload guns.

"Strange? No, I haven't noticed." Ness shook his head as he snapped the container of the gun shut and put it back in it's holster.

"He dyed his hair a different colour."

"Really! I didn't think he'd be interested is that."

"Yeah, everyone's confused. He's been avoiding everyone, for some reason."

Ness put down the gun he was loading and stood up from his work stool.

"473, please continue this. I want to go check on him." He ordered. The soldier gave him a salute and continued her work.

Ness walked down the main hallway of the airship headquarters, his eyes scanning every area. It was mainly empty, most of the soldiers were patrolling the area. He stalked down every corridor, searching, but couldn't find who he was looking for. That was until he felt someone bump into him from behind.

"Oof…!" Ness spun around, surprised to see he had run into the Commander. "My apologies, Your Highness! I…uh...really like your hair." He sneered a bit. Instead of the bright red he wore so well, the Commander had blonde hair, almost platinum.

"Um…! Th...thank you...uh...what's your name again?" The Commander stuttered, his hands fidgeting nervously.

"I'm sorry? Sir, I've been your partner in combat for decades. It's me. You know, the General." Ness reminded.

"R...right! Sorry, I forgot…?"

"No worries, sir. Tell me, why is it you decided to dye your hair?"

"I didn't. Um…! I mean…! I thought brown wasn't the colour for me, that's all! Heh!"

Ness raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Your hair used to be red, not brown." He began to feel like something wasn't quite right.

"Well, heh...um...I gotta go!"

The Commander took off running in the other direction. Ness suddenly noticed the holes in the back of his uniform. They were placed there so his wings could fit through and could be easily accessed. But his wings were not there. This was not the Commander.

Ness took out his radio and sent an order to Paula's channel.

"Soldier, this is the General! Over!"

"What's up, love?"

"We have an imposter in the headquarters. He is posing as our Commander!"

"An imposter? Leave it to me, Nessie."

The sirens began to blare, and emergency lights flashed. Soldiers scattered, barking orders at each other and searching wildly. Ness drew his sword from the holster, closed his eyes, and began to concentrate. Where could he sense this boy?

His eyes shot open. A PSI aura! The boy had PSI abilities!

"The Lucas boy…" He murmured. So he was right; the boy would come back once more. He crossed his fingers and prayed that Lucas hadn't realized the power of PK Love yet. The whole project with the needles would be ruined if he did.

Ness broke into a sprint, sword in defensive position. He followed the PSI aura until he spotted the imposter running down a hallway. The hallway led to a trapdoor that opened up to a ladder, which made it's way up and to the roof of the airship.

"Lucas! We meet at last!" He yelled. Lucas stopped and turned around slowly. A small glimmer of electricity sparkled around his fingers, and Ness knew he was expecting a battle.

"Care to explain why you are pretending to be our Second in Command? Hmm?" He asked, taking long strides towards the other. No answer.

"Oh, come on. Don't give me the silent treatment. I know who you are, Lucas. And I've heard a lot about you." He smirked.

"I...I...uh…" Lucas tried to speak, but only a few choking squeaks escaped his voice. Ness lunged forwards and gently pressed the blade of the sword to the blond's neck.

"Oh, look at this. You're trapped." He taunted, giving the blade a bit more pressure. Lucas' face went pale, and he began to take slow, terrified breaths. Ness saw him raise his hand, electrical sparks surrounding his fingers. Instantly, he dodged the sudden thunder attack. He clicked his teeth a few times and grinned.

"Oh, love. That won't work on me. Your aura seems to be, what...a month old? Trust me, I've been using PSI longer than you've been alive."

Suddenly, the trapdoor behind Lucas flung open, and the blonde was dragged out of the room by his ankle. Ness groaned in disgust and jumped out after him, spreading his wings and letting himself hang in the air. An older girl with pink hair was carrying Lucas up the ladder and onto the roof. Ness shot a fiery attack from his fingers to the ladder, which caught fire immediately. The girl screamed and looked around, before spotting the ladder that hung at the entrance to the ship. She swung once, twice, then took a daring leap for the ladder, which she successfully grabbed on to.

She climbed up next to a third person, who was wearing a blue shirt and fuchsia pants. He grabbed her hand to keep her steady. Above the trio, standing in the entrance, was the Commander. The real one. So Ness let himself back into the ship to let him handle it.

Meanwhile, the Commander stared down at the three stowaways, hanging onto the ladder for dear life. He smirked.

"It almost pains me to do this, dears. My apologies." He teased, before charging up a PSI blast and shooting, ripping the ladder from the entrance and sending the rebels flying. He watched in satisfaction as they fell, until they were out of sight.

"Commander, you let Lucas go!" Exclaimed a soldier behind him, who pulled a lever to close the fuselage door.

"I am aware. I just thought...maybe it'd be fun to play with him a bit. A small game of cat and mouse, yes?" The Commander sneered.

And so, the game began. The unforgiving Commander as the stealthy cat, and poor, weak Lucas as the hopeless, pathetic mouse.

* * *

"Gah!"

Ness fell back onto the matted floor, groaning in defeat. Paula drew her sword away from his chest and smirked. She then held out a hand and assisted him in standing back up. The two were currently combat training.

"That's the fourth time I've beaten you today, Ness. What's up with you?" Paula commented as they began to brawl once more.

"Nothing!" Replied Ness, trying to concentrate on blocking and swiping.

"But you always beat me in sword training." Taunted Paula. Ness jumped towards her, knocking her blade out of the way and softly pressing the tip of his sword to her chest armor.

"There, I won." He grinned.

"Yah, for the first time in hours. What's up with you, buddy?" Paula scoffed, walking to a side bench and grabbing her water bottle. Ness settled down next to her and wiped his forehead with a damp cloth.

"I guess I'm just worried about the mission. You know, with the needles and such." He admitted, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Yeah, I agree with you. That blond kid who's tryna' pull them, he's getting pretty powerful." Responded Paula, leaning back and putting her hands behind her head.

"I've heard he's already pulled the second one. The Commander is getting so worked up; he's been going after Lucas for days. I really miss him."

"Why didn't you go along?"

"We need _somebody_ to watch over the soldiers while he's gone." Ness told her.

"Psh. I could have taken it." Paula stood up, stretched, and walked back to the training mat. "Come on, take your mind off of it. We need more practice."

Ness shrugged and joined her, where they engaged in combat again. As they practiced, he thought to himself. What if it was a good thing Lucas was out there? What if he managed to defeat the Master? Ness didn't support his army in any way, but felt guilty for wanting it to be destroyed.

After the session was finished, he said goodbye to Paula and left the training hall. That's when he noticed a familiar head of red hair at the other side of the room.

"Your Highness, you've returned!" Called Ness as he jogged over to the Commander.

"Hm? Yes, I've come back. I have also been successful in pulling a few needles. That blond brat still won't give up." He growled stressfully, rubbing his eyes. Ness noticed his artificial arm, which was hanging limp at his side and had a few plates missing.

"Sir, your arm! Do you plan on seeing Je- I mean...Doctor Andonuts?" Asked Ness, concerned.

"Of course I was, I was just heading there now."

Ness followed the Commander and made sure he didn't collapse the whole way there. He didn't seem to be malfunctioning, but his steps were a little wobbly.

"Doctor, I need assistance." The Commander said once he entered the room. Jeff was at his desk as usual. He looked up and gave a weak smile. He staggered over and inspected the damaged arm.

"So, you've gotten yourself broken again, hey? Sit down, I'll fix up your arm." He said. The Commander obliged, sitting down on the other side of the desk. He sprawled his arm over the work board and Jeff began to work his magic. Ness watched, fascinated. He always enjoyed watching Jeff work; it was soothing at how fast and professional his fingers moved. When Jeff was captured, he was injected with the genes of a mouse. That way, he could stay up for days on end and never get tired of working and moving quickly.

"My goodness, this is the worst I've ever seen it. What'd you get involved in this time? I hope you're not still going after that Lucas kid." Jeff grinned, peeking at the Commander from underneath his glasses.

"It is necessary that I do so. We engaged in battle today; he managed to defeat me again. Every time we meet, he's learned a new PSI special." The ginger replied, moving his metal fingers around slowly to see if they were working.

"Perhaps I could accompany you on the next mission to find a needle? I know PSI." Reminded Ness. The Commander eyed him, with a small hint of sadness in his gaze. Ness knew that he was thinking of the conversation they had three years ago. The only time Ness ever told anyone other than Paula or Jeff about his guilt.

"I...uh...no. You don't have to do that, I can handle myself." The Commander's tone went from soft to stern as his sentence progressed. He turned away and looked down at the ground, not wanting Ness to know his secret sympathy.

"Alright, I think you should be able to use your arm again. But be careful; it's being supported by a spare joint connector. Try not to stretch your arm out or anything. Just...don't use it until I can fix this connector." Jeff explained. The Commander nodded curtly. He _hated_ being told to do things, and Ness giggled a bit, knowing this.

Hours later, Ness and the Commander were sitting together in the planning office, marking down routes on a map, planning the next bombing.

"We'll head south, and plant landmines near their weapon storage. If they try to get weapons, they'll be killed instantly." Explained Ness, using his pencil to locate the town's weapon storage unit.

"Yes, but what do we do about the guns? I've researched the village; every house has a gun in case of attacks just like this." Told the Commander, crossing one leg over the other.

"Those guns are mere playthings compared to our weaponry. We should be just fine, I would say." Assured Ness. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. He took a long look at his Commander. It had been three years since they first met. Three years since that heart crushing day when Ness was told to lock up all of his feelings.

He never understood it. The Commander was cold, demanding, cruel, threatening, and pretty much a dick. He barely had any positive traits. But Ness still felt so drawn to him, so _in love._ Perhaps it was because he knew about his Commander's previous identity. Perhaps it was _Claus_ he was falling in love with. He sighed again, knowing he'd never understand.

"Is something troubling you?" The second in command asked. Ness looked up, eyebrows raised, and shook his head.

"No, I'm just...a little tired." He replied.

"You're a chimera, you don't get tired." The Commander said, suspicious.

"Uhh...I meant emotionally tired, not sleepy tired."

"Uh huh. This is an order, tell me what is wrong. Are you malfunctioning? "

"No, it's not that, I'm just…"

"Just what?"

"I'm emotionally tired, you know? Like...I'm not sleepy tired, because I'm a chimera and all, but I'm emotionally tired, as in I am very stressed out about certain things, but I am still able to function properly if that makes any sense?" Ness' sentence grew quiet as he rambled on, trying to find a way to explain himself.

The Commander raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. He definitely wasn't buying it. Ness flinched, shrugging.

"So...yah." He squeaked to fill in the silence.

The Commander stared at him a bit longer, then brought his hand to his face and leaning over. He began to twitch a bit. Ness stood up, worried. Had something happened?

"Sir? What's wrong?" He asked. The Commander sounded as if he was crying. But then, Ness saw the smile on his face. He was _laughing._ Seeing him smile like that almost made Ness melt.

"Tss...my apologies, General...you caught me off guard with that, heh heh." Snickered the other.

"Um...okay…?" Ness replied, laughing awkwardly. He was seeing an incredibly rare sight. His Commander never really smiled at all, not even a grin. The only other times Ness saw him smile was when he smirked evilly down at defeated opponents, but never out of actual amusement. When the Commander removed his hand from his face and revealed the small, barely noticeable hint of happiness in his eyes, Ness felt his face go warm.

That's when he realized. He was falling in love because of his Commander's potential for happiness. _That's_ what it was. From that day forward, Ness was determined. He knew what he had to do. If his Commander really did have the possibility of being truly happy, then he had to assist him.

Ness had to get the Commander his memories back.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. General, I have a meeting to attend, I require assistance in setting up troops for tomorrow's session. Please complete that for me." Asked the Commander, standing up and leaving the room. Ness followed quickly.

"Yes, your Highness. At your service."


	6. Chapter 5: Temporary Resignation

"No."

"Jeff!"

Ness sternly put a hand in his friend's shoulder, but it was shrugged off. He had come to the old scientist's office to try and receive the Commander's USB drive, which had his past memories locked up.

"Ness, I love and respect you more than any other creature on this planet. But I can't let you do this." Said Jeff in his raspy voice.

"Jeff, listen to me! Our Commander has potential for actual happiness! If he gets his memories back, and can be joyful for once! He can help us escape this hell-hole! We could save the world again!" Explained Ness, throwing his hands in the air in frustration.

"I know...that's what I want more than anything." Admitted Jeff, sitting down with a tired grunt.

"Then why won't you let me return his memories?"

"I'm trying to protect you both, Ness. Now, I have never felt love in a romantic sense. Never in my entire life. But I've _seen_ it. And Ness, what I've seen between you and the Commander is definitely good chemistry. But if I return his memories, the first thing the Master will do is kill him, and maybe even you. Please understand what I'm trying to do, old friend. The world will never survive if you die." Jeff solemnly glared at Ness, his green eyes sparkling with apology.

Ness tried to answer, but couldn't. He was so mad, but he knew Jeff was right. The Master would know that Ness would have something to do with it with the Commander suddenly remembered everything. And if Ness was executed for that, the entire Earth could be in danger. But he, like always, looked on the brighter side.

"You're not the Jeff I once knew. You would have done anything to help Claus back then. You know what? I don't care what you think. I'll get ahold of that USB somehow." Threatened Ness. Jeff showed no sign of fear.

"I've hidden it. Trust me, Ness. If you gain access to it, all that will come will be disaster."

Meanwhile, on the main floor of ground headquarters, the Commander stood on a balcony, watching the training session. The soldiers were practicing their hand to hand combat currently, and were getting good at it.

"378! More energy, an enemy could have struck you if you moved that slow in battle!" He shouted, upon seeing a soldier who was off time. The soldier nodded nervously and began to move faster, much to the Commander's satisfaction.

"Oi, Scott, c'mere."

The Commander heard whispers behind him. He turned, to see a soldier beckoning another with his hand. They were almost at the other end of the hallway, but the Commander managed to listen in due to his convenient feline ability in hearing.

"What'chu want, David?" The second soldier whispered, walking over to Scott.

"Have ya noticed how weird the Commander's been acting, lately? Paula says she heard him _humming_ the other day." Scott sneered a bit. The Commander recalled the day prior, when he was checking airline monitors. A melody had popped into his mind, and he had begun to mutter it to himself quietly. He hadn't realized one of the soldiers heard him.

"Not possible…" Joked David.

"Nope, completely possible. In fact, I saw him smile the other day. He was outside, and a little squirrel came and ran across his foot. He just gave it a little grin and walked away." Marveled Scott, nudging David.

"How do you think the Master's gonna handle that? Smiling is the first sign that the Commander may be learning how to feel human again." Worried David. The Commander turned his head sharply. He repeated the sentence in his head. Had he heard that right?

"It was gonna happen sooner or later. I'm surprised he didn't remember where he came from when Lucas broke into the airship. Poor guy, he didn't even recognize his own brother."

The Commander felt his wings flare instinctively as a sudden flood of worry and anger overcame him. What were these soldiers talking about? He didn't have a brother, and he most certainly didn't have a _human_ brother. Chimeras didn't really have relations, did they? He was sure that whatever they were talking about must have been memories that had been programmed onto them when they were manufactured. He knew himself better than anybody else, and he knew that there was no way he had ever been human. There was no way he'd ever stoop that low.

He began to walk away, pretending he hadn't heard the disturbing discussion. Whatever he was listening wasn't real. He would talk to the Master and Dr. Andonuts about it.

Thirty minutes later, he was in the Master's office.

"84559? What do you need to discuss?" Asked the voice from the shadows.

"Sir, I'm ashamed to say I overheard a conversation between two soldiers. Scott, number 204, and David, number 312." Admitted the Commander, placing both hands behind his back respectfully. The lack of an answer alarmed him slightly.

"Those two bloody idiots tend to leak unwanted things...what did you hear?" Asked the Master, a mix of threat and dare in his voice. The Commander swallowed and hesitated.

"Something having to do with myself, Your Highness." He flinched.

* * *

"Oh my goodness! What the hell happened?!" Ness rushed to the stretcher nearby, were his Commander lay. The ginger had long, thin gashes covering his entire body, his prosthetic arm was broken and mangled, and one of his legs was bent at an unnatural angle. His chest rose and fell quickly as he struggled to take shallow breaths.

It didn't take long for Ness to realize that the gashes were claw markings. He already knew what had happened.

"The Master locked him in a lab drago's cage. A fully grown one, too." Answered a Nurse, swiftly cleaning the wounds with a damp cloth. Ness looked around, spotting the Commander's uniform shirt hanging from a hook, torn up and drenched in blood.

"Why?" Asked Ness, placing his hands on the Commander's shoulders protectively.

"He heard two soldiers talking about _you know what._ " The nurse whispered from the corner of his mouth, gesturing to the Commander with a tip of his head.

"He learned about Claus?" Marveled Ness.

"Well, he did, but he didn't believe it. He told the Master, and was locked in the cage. After we treat him, we'll have to remove his memories of the past few days."

Ness' heart sank. The Commander came so close to learning about himself. But he still had hope; he was determined. He knew where the USB was, but Jeff had the lab guarded, he even had soldiers guarding the sinks. He'd have to come up with a way to get past all of them.

"Well, General, you're free to go if you want. I have to fix him up as quick as possible." Offered the Nurse, putting on his gloves.

"No, please," Ness said, raising a hand to stop the Nurse, "I want to stay with him until he wakes up." The Nurse smiled at him sympathetically, and gestured to the Commander.

"Well, you don't have to wait too long. He's beginning to stir."

Ness looked down. The Commander's eyes were slowly opening. He sighed in relief.

"Your Highness? Do you feel well?" He calmly asked. His calmness was suddenly replaced with fear, for the Commander latched both hands onto his arm, fingernails digging into his skin. The red-head was breathing heavily, almost as if he was short of breath. His eyes, wide open, were darting around the room.

"Ah...no…! I don't want to go back in there, okay? Shit…!" He gasped, making eye contact with Ness.

"Wait, what? Sir, please calm down!" Ness said. The look in his Commander's eyes frightened him. There was a mixture of fear and desperation in his gaze that Ness had never seen before. He was almost convinced that Claus had returned, because he'd never seen a chimera with such emotion before.

"The...the Drago, it almost killed me! What did I do wrong…?! G...general, please help…"

"You're fine, you're okay. Calm down, just close your eyes...Nurse, do you have any twigs? Sticks? Something like that?"

The nurse glanced at Ness with a confused look, but reached over to a decorative tree near him and snapped off a decent sized branch. Ness held it near the Commander and supported him up.

"Here, break this. Claw it up, bite it, destroy this branch." Ness told him. Within a minute, the Commander turned the branch into a pile of sawdust and splinters. His breathing began to slow, and he loosened up.

"Wow, how did you think of that?" Asked the nurse, softly laying the Commander back down.

"He probably felt overwhelmed. When I'm really scared about something, I break a twig or snap a pencil. It always helps. I also noticed, during battle plannings, he likes to rip up little pieces of paper. It helps him calm down when he gets nervous or stressed." Explained Ness. The nurse raised an eyebrow with a teasing grin.

"You certainly do pay attention to him a lot, yes?" He sneered.

"Y...you stop that…!" Stammered Ness, turning away. The nurse laughed and continued to tend to the Commander, who had powered down again. Ness watched, feeling most satisfied as each gash was treated. He let his gaze wander to his Commander's face every so often, and he blushed at how peaceful he looked.

He understood how horrifying it was to be locked in a drago's cage. They were trained to attack, but not kill. When Ness had been trapped in there himself, he had nearly bled out from all of the claw marks. Not even his strongest use of PSI could protect him. It was dark in there, so he couldn't see his target, for his night vision had been deactivated. A truly horrifying place, it was.

"I really do wonder, why did the Master get so upset over this? The Commander didn't even believe what the soldiers said, yet the Master still freaked out on him." Wondered the Nurse.

"He didn't want to let him know about anything about his past life, in fear that our Commander would remember things. If he does, we'd have to kill him, and the Master doesn't want to do that." Ness bitterly explained, voice dark and solemn.

"Why not?" Asked the nurse.

Ness paused at the question.

"He knows how to use PK Love." He simply replied.

The nurse stopped what he was doing and stumbled back a little bit, eyes wide with absolute shock.

"There's no way! At his age?" He exclaimed.

"He does, truly. Now, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but he _can_ use it. That's why he's been able to pull the needles; only those who have the power of PK Love can pull them. The Master doesn't want to destroy him, because of how rare that PSI move is, you know? Our Commander is very valuable." Ness told the nurse, who was still staring down at the Second in Command, bewildered.

"That's amazing! Not even _you_ know that power, sir! Aren't you one of the ten PSI experts of the world?"

"Number three, yes."

"Goodness…"

"Quite so...I had no idea." The nurse breathed.

"No one does, other than me, of course." Ness replied, amused by the nurse's wonder. This wasn't true; Paula knew as well. But soldiers were forbidden to know of the Commander's impressive ability, so they had to keep it a secret. He had tried to train himself to acquire the power of PK Love, but no matter what he did, he was unable to. He had guessed that you needed to be a certain type of person in order to realize the power.

At long last, the nurse had almost finished up his work, and at this point, was practically dragging Ness out of the room.

"He is going to be fine! Go get some rest or something." Insisted the nurse, pushing Ness out the door. Persistently, the General simply walked back in.

"I'm a chimera, we don't need rest! What if he wakes up and freaks out again?" Argued Ness.

"I'll figure something out. Just go do your important army stuff, leave me to my work."

Finally, Ness had hesitantly agreed to leave the office, and made his way outside, annoyed. He knew that his Commander would be alright, but he was slightly bothered by leaving him there. The ginger had been hurt before, many times. But this was the worst Ness had ever seen him, and he was especially worried about what would happen when he woke up.

"Small Fry!"

Paula's loud voice alerted him. He turned and smiled upon seeing her approach him, panting.

"Aren't you supposed to be at training right now?" Ness sneered, nudging her. Paula stuck her tongue at him and shrugged.

"I'm a big girl, I don't need it. How's the boss? I heard he got pretty beaten up." She quizzed, wiping sweat off of her forehead with a cloth. Ness frowned.

"Yah, he pissed off the Master, and paid the consequence." He muttered, pointing to the visible scar on his neck. Paula gave him a sad, sympathetic look, and ran a hand through her hair.

"Poor dude...I'm guessing he had the same reaction as you?" She guessed. Ness gave her a curt nod. When he woke up in the nurse's office years ago after being locked in the cage, he had spazzed out, losing all control of what he said and what he did. Eventually, he just passed out from his inability to breathe. His reaction was a lot more violent than that of the Commander's, but similar.

"It still gives me shivers...I got locked in there, what, ten years ago?" He asked.

"Yah. Let's change the subject, you don't look really comfortable with it." Paula answered. Ness smiled at her gratefully.

"I have a question about Jeff," Paula suddenly brought up, "I wanna know if you've gotten the USB from him or not."

"Of course I haven't, you know how stubborn he is." Complained Ness.

* * *

"Your excellency, sir."

"Commander? I did not ask you to come here."

Factory Chimera 84559 flinched at the slightly annoyed tone in the Master's voice. He stepped forward, hands behind his back respectfully. Head held high, he began to speak nervously.

"Sir, I have a request." He told the Master.

"Oh? And what may that be?" Slurred the Master, his twisted grin barely visible from the shadows. The Commander swallowed nervously and pulled out a pink slip of paper from his pocket, setting it on the desk. The Master picked it up with a large hand.

"What's this?" He asked disapprovingly.

"My temporary resignation form, your Highness." Informed the Commander. The Master observed the paper and the neat signature scrawled on it with black pen. He scowled and looked up.

"You're quitting?" He surmised with a snarl in his voice.

"Not permanently! Only for a week, so I can suss everything out. I need to let go of what the soldiers gossiped of." Assured the Commander.

"Wait, you still remember that?! Fucking Andonuts!" The Master hissed, slamming both hands down on the desk. The Commander took a step back, heart racing.

"...Sir…?"

"You...are not...quitting. Now, go call your four best gunmen and have them bring Andonuts to the main floor." Ordered the Master, voice shaking with anger.

"R...Right away, your Highness!" Replied the Commander, saluting and running off. In five minutes, Jeff Andonuts was struggling, on his knees, arms held in a tight grip from two soldiers.

"What's the point of this? I demand an explanation!" The scientist raged. The Master, covered with a large, protective cloak, walked forwards.

"I've had enough with you, Andonuts. First, you steal my only friend from me. Then, you fail to properly program my best chimera! I've kept you alive for too long!" Proclaimed the Master.

"Master? What's going on?" Called a voice nearby.

"General!" Exclaimed the Commander. Ness approached, gasping when he saw Jeff.

"Master? Explain this to me!" He demanded.

"It's time to say goodbye to your poor excuse of a friend. Remember what great friends you and I were? Well, _he_ went and destroyed all that. Now it's time for him to pay the price. Fire at will!" Ordered the Master. Ness made quick, desperate eye contact with Jeff.

The look in Jeff's eyes said, "Goodbye."

The sound of gunshots echoed as he watched, in horror, his dearest friend fall to the ground with a dull thump. Spots of red soaked through the scientist's clothing and trailed to the floor, making puddles. Ness found himself unable to speak, move, or process. As he stood there, quivering, he tried to convince himself that he was dreaming. It had all happened so fast…

"Y...you…" He gasped, his voice barely even a whisper. In the corner of his eye, he saw the Master grin evilly under the hood of his cloak. He was _enjoying_ seeing Ness like this.

"He was...my best friend…" Choked Ness, falling to his knees next to his dead friend. Jeff's blue eyes stared into nothingness, his face still fixed in the emotion of acceptance, the acceptance of death.

"That's why I did it. He didn't deserve to be your friend; I did. He's the reason I had no confidence. It's my _revenge_." Sneered the Master. Of course, the smile fell from his face the minute Ness lunged at him, an aura of flames surrounding his right hand. Before Ness had a chance to attack in blind rage, he was tackled by the Commander, who used PSI Hypnosis to knock him out. A few soldiers dashed to the Master's side, who seemed faint and lightheaded from the attempted attack. As he was guided back to his office, the Commander helped a few more soldiers bring an unconscious Ness to the nurse's room. Meanwhile, Jeff's body was disposed of.

When Ness eventually woke up, he stared up at the ceiling from the hospital bed, unable to cry. It had been so quick; one second, he was dashing down the stairs to see what the commotion was, and the next, his best friend was lying dead on the floor. Ness couldn't stop thinking about the haunting look in Jeff's eyes before he died. Jeff didn't seem affected, as if he was okay with his death.

Eventually, Ness felt the pressure of tears in his eyes.

"I'll miss you, Jeff…" He sobbed quietly, "It was a pleasure to be at your service."


	7. Chapter 6: Twin Boys

**Hello, readers! Just a quick reminder that I do have a second story called "Plot Twist" currently out, and I'd appreciate it if you'd go over and check it out! I am also beginning to take requests for Cover Images. No payment needed, just message me if you'd like to ask for one! If you need to see samples of my art, you'd welcome to check out my DeviantART and see if my style is to your liking. :)**

 **My DeviantART**

* * *

Ness sat alone, in a tree. The sky was gray, and a small drizzle of rain flurried down. At least the weather matched his mood; completely gray. What was he going to do without Jeff in his life? Then again, what was the army going to do without Jeff? He was the greatest scientist in the world; the only one capable of chimera production. Ness smiled a bit, remembering how bad Jeff was at science when they first met. He constantly blew things up, broke things, and almost set fire to Paula's dress at one point. But he still had that brilliant mind of his.

Suddenly, the familiar scuff of combat boots on tree bark alerted him. He knew that Paula was coming up, so he scootched over to allow her some room to sit.

"General?"

Ness gasped. That wasn't Paula. He turned to meet the red eyes of his Commander.

"Your Highness…! What are you doing outside in the rain, your arm could rust!" Worried Ness, straightening up. He then noticed that the ginger was holding a bundle of green fabric.

"Sir...is that…?"

"Doctor Andonuts' sports jacket, yes."

As the jacket was handed to him, Ness almost burst into tears again. The familiar texture of the jacket revived so many memories.

"Why are you giving me this?" Asked Ness, hugging the coat tightly, as if it was the most important thing in the world. At this point, the jacket was the most important thing, in Ness' world, at least.

"I understand that you and Andonuts were remarkable friends, and a soldier suggested I give you something to remember him by." Explained the Commander. Ness noticed that his eyes weren't as hateful and dark as before. They seemed...softer.

"As if I could ever forget Jeff…" Ness murmured.

"Is that his first name?" Asked the Commander. Ness gave him a sad nod. There was a small drag of silence, filled only by the pitter patter of raindrops, which were thickening. Thunder crashed in the distance.

"General...well, I know this may be a difficult question to answer, but...could you...? Tell me _your_ name?" The Second in Command wondered. Ness' eyes widened, and he searched for an answer. He was forbidden to tell the Commander his name.

"Well, um...you see, sir, I'm not allowed to say…" He stammered.

"I see, you don't want to tell me. I understand."

"It's not that, I just…"

"My apologies. I should go back inside, the rain is thickening."

And he was gone. Ness blinked, watching the door to the headquarters shut. Then, he looked up at the sky and let the rain pelt against his face. Ever since the Commander learned about Claus, he was developing a more warm personality. He wasn't nearly as cold and careless now. Ness liked it.

Lightning struck nearby, but Ness didn't move. Maybe he could get struck himself, then he would die and leave this pathetic life behind. Ness took another look at the green, double breasted jacket, and sighed. He let himself slide off of the tree branch and landed safely. After hanging Jeff's coat on another branch, Ness took off his own and threw it to the wet, muddy ground. That stupid uniform represented his mistake of letting himself join the despicable army.

"Fuck...this...stupid...coat!" He hissed under his breath as he crushed it beneath his foot, letting it tear from the heel of his boot. He never wanted to see that coat again.

When Ness entered the headquarters again, soldiers were shocked to see him wearing Jeff's green jacket, still stained with dried blood and torn from bullets. Thankfully, two bullet holes in the back were just large enough to fit his wings through. He ignored every gossiping whisper, every gasp, and every question. Ness would wear it until he either died or escaped. He'd wear it as a constant reminder for the army, and what they did to his best friend.

* * *

"Lucas, honestly. There's nothing we can do."

Three people and a dog sat around a poorly built fire, huddled together to keep warm. The smallest one, Lucas, was in the middle, while two older ones, Duster and Kumatora, shielded him from the cold wind.

"I know, Kuma...but I feel like there's more to that army than just power. Surely, their king had a different purpose for starting it in the first place?" Lucas tiredly suggested, yawning. Kumatora sighed and looked up at the sky. The clouds from the rainstorm earlier were returning, they'd have to find shelter soon.

"Hey, the kid fell asleep." Duster grunted, gesturing to Lucas, who had peacefully drifted off. Kumatora stood up and took the child into her arms, careful not to wake him.

"Umm…" She looked around a bit for some form of shelter, but she was unsuccessful.

"You don't think we're gonna find shelter on the _ground_ , do you?" Duster taunted. He began to press the palm of his hand against multiple trees, until he found one with reasonably hard bark. Kumatora watched, somewhat impressed, as he sheathed his wall staples and began to work his way up the tree.

"Kumatora, it's got a hollow trunk! Bring Lucas up here!" Duster rasped from among the branches. Kumatora hoisted Lucas onto her shoulders, accidentally waking him.

"Luc, I'm gonna need you to hang on." She told him. Lucas nodded, and his grip around her neck tightened. Kumatora climbed up the tree until she spotted Duster, perched on a branch. He pointed to the trunk, which had a reasonably sized hole in it.

"Heh, that was lucky." Grinned Kumatora. She gingerly lifted the sleeping boy and placed him into the trunk. It was just large enough for him to fit cosily. Kumatora sighed and leaned against the trunk on her branch. A few birds chattered and flew away as someone else climbed up the tree; Boney. The chocolate coloured dog scrambled clumsily onto a branch, whimpering.

"Aww, I'm sorry, Boney!" Laughed Kumatora, petting him between the ears. She had completely forgotten about the trusty dog. Boney stumbled over to Kumatora's branch and laid across her lap. The group was soon fast asleep, just as the rain started up. Thankfully, the tree was large, with thick branches, blocking out the rain. As Lucas slept, he had multiple dreams. Disturbing dreams, really. He kept on seeing that boy...the one he had come face-to-face with on the PigMask airship. All he could remember we're sad, sunken violet eyes, and jet black hair.

Then, there was the masked one. Lucas never saw their face, but they seemed so familiar. They seemed young, too. Maybe a few years older than Lucas. He couldn't stop thinking about them. He couldn't stop thinking about the whole ordeal in general.

Then, he had the nightmare.

He woke up in pure darkness. Absolute pitch black. He couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face.

"Hello?" Lucas called out into the void. His voice didn't echo or delay. When he began to take hesitant, small steps, his shoes made no noise. All around him, pure silence hung. Every step was a new risk, as he felt as if he'd drop into a pit if he moved further.

Then, he saw a light. A small, faint light, floating in the distance. His fear was replaced with curiosity, and he began to walk a little faster. The light, as it grew brighter, shined with a familiar, warm glow. Lucas felt safe with this light. It made him feel like he was nine years old again, carelessly living his life, happily with his family. However, as he came into touching distance of the light, it faded to a much lower brightness, almost unnoticeable. Suddenly, a figure was visible before Lucas. The blond stumbled back in surprise from the sudden appearance with a startled yelp.

The figure was Claus, his dead brother. The light Lucas had seen was a reflection. Even thought no light source seemed to be present, the blood trickling down Claus' face had a definite reflection. Lucas stared up at his brother, bewildered.

"C...Claus…?" He breathed. The ginger only gave Lucas a threatening grin.

"Dearest brother…" Claus murmured. His voice faded in and out, from a wispy breath to a loud yell. Unlike Lucas' own voice, Claus' echoed.

"Claus, what happened to you? Where'd all this blood come from?" Fret Lucas, running forward to touch his shoulder. Though, before he could, Claus disappeared from his view. Lucas glanced around, confused.

"What are you doing here?" The haunting voice came again.

Claus' question came from behind Lucas. He spun around to see Claus again, but this time, his face seemed alright. Despite this, a large, open gash tore open his shirt and through his skin, dried blood caking the edges. Lucas nearly vomitted at the horrendous sight.

"I...I don't know! What are you doing here, aren't you...d…d…"

"...Dead?"

"Y...yah!"

Claus snickered and disappeared again, this time reappearing to Lucas' right side. His chest was fine now, but his left arm was missing with the same bloody, torn fashion as the last wound.

"You've been getting into a lot of trouble, I've heard." He said, ignoring his twin's question. Lucas tipped his head to the side.

"Trouble? What do you mean? Where did you hear that?" He asked. Claus reached into his back pocket with his good hand and pulled out a stack of letters. Lucas saw that they had no address, no stamp, no nothing.

"From the mailboxes, of course. Oh! Here...this one says…'The boy named Lucas just comitted murder.'" Claus read off of one of the letters after tearing it out of the envelope.

"What?!" Cried Lucas. Claus disappeared once more, and faded in far behind Lucas.

"'The boy named Lucas has blood on his hands.'"

"No…!"

"'This boy named Lucas _killed his mother and brother."_

" _Stop it! You're not Claus! You're just my imagination…!"_ Shouted Lucas, clamping his hands over his ears to block out sound. This made no difference, as he could still hear the taunts being thrown at him. They began to slowly get louder and louder, until it was practically screaming. Multiple voices spoke to him. He heard his father, he heard Kumatora, Duster, Fuel...everybody was shouting taunts at him. He even heard his mother's voice.

Strong hands grabbed at his ankle. Lucas screamed and tried to kick them off, but they clung on tight. So tight, his foot began to fall asleep. More hands. Dry, scaley hands with long, sharp nails grabbed at every part of him, and pulled. The pain was incredible; searing burning all over his body. Hands latched onto his shoulders, face, neck, and back. Thousands of evil souls, trying to tear him apart.

He then saw Claus in front of him, perfectly fine. No wounds, no blood, no nothing.

"Claus, please! They're trying to kill me!" Lucas begged, loosing his strength quickly. Claus looked around nervously, as if he was hesitant on saving his brother. To Lucas' relief, his brother began to run towards him. But something wasn't right; Claus was grinning. Horrified, Lucas realized he had a knife. His brother suddenly lunged at him, and the thousands of hands held Lucas steady in a vulnerable spread position.

"Claus…?!" Lucas sobbed. He looked up into the bloodthirsty, crazed eyes of his twin. Claus slowly raised the knife up with two hands, not breaking eye contact.

In an instant, the noise stopped. Claus spoke, in a low, intense whisper:

" _I'm not Claus anymore."_

* * *

"Ah…!"

The Commander sprang up, nearly falling back in the chair he was sitting in. Heart pounding, he looked around the room, grabbing his desk for support. A bead of sweat poured down his face as he gasped for air. Once he realized it was only a dream, he sighed and relaxed.

"Goodness…" He panted. He had just had the most awful nightmare. Which was funny, because chimeras normally didn't have dreams. The ginger glanced down, noticing his desk, papers and books scattered across it's surface. He had fallen asleep while planning a bombing.

Ever since Dr. Andonuts was executed, the Commander had been having frightening visions and dreams. He'd hallucinate often, seeing a chimera Drago speeding towards him. But by the time he had pulled out his sword to defend himself, he would realize the reality of what it was. He'd hear screams, the terrified shouting of what he guessed were a few young boys and an older woman. These malfunctions caused him to be more paranoid, and he knew the soldiers were noticing this. The Commander was worried about what he'd do if he malfunctioned, and Andonuts wasn't there to fix him. Would the Master have him killed as well?

A knock at the door jolted him from his trance.

"Your Highness? It's Soldier #766. The bombing is about to start, you're needed at the aiming pit." The muffled voice called to him.

"Hm…? Oh, yes! I'll be only a minute…" The Commander replied shakily. He cursed at himself for falling asleep right before a bombing.

Within five minutes, he had pushed the memory of the awful dream from his head and was in the aiming pit, seated at a control board. He put on his headset and turned it on.

"This is your Commander, attention. Shoot only where and when I tell you to, and if you fail to hear me over the headset, I will skin you." He announced.

"B...but, sir! This town has canons, what if they hit us?" Asked a frightened soldier over the channel.

"Suck it up, buttercup. Let's move out!"

* * *

Ness stumbled a bit from the sudden moving of the airship. He leaned against the railing of a catwalk and glared outside of the window, seeing their target town in the horizon. It looked beautiful, with wonderfully crafted buildings and lush, tall pine trees. All of that was to be destroyed in less than ten minutes.

"Hey."

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now, Polestar."

"Well I am."

Paula's sweet, flowery scent made Ness feel better instantly. She brushed against him and looked at him solemnly, leaning on the catwalk's rail as well.

"Still thinking about Jeff?" She mumbled. Ness only nodded in response. The whole ordeal had happen about a month ago, and he still couldn't let it go.

"I was so used to walking into his office and talking, every morning. Now, I go in there...and I forget that he's gone." Ness recalled. Silence.

"You know...he's got to be a lot happier, now. Up in heaven." Paula told him.

"Yeah, I know. I feel like an idiot, trying to convince him to escape with us." Spat Ness. He jumped at the sound of a loud canon fire, and the earsplitting shriek of a bomb tearing through the air. A quick flash; and with horror, Ness watched the town below them be destroyed. A tall building toppled, and thousands of innocent people sprinted to escape.

Another bomb. Bricks, wood, and metal went flying, while blood sprayed at coated every surface. Ness flinched. After all these years, he still hadn't grown used to the sight of death.

"Poor things…" Paula muttered. Ness knew who she was talking about; two children who looked remarkably similar clung to each other in fear. Probably twins.

Twins.

Two boys.

* * *

"Your Highness, what are you doing?!" Screamed a nearby soldier, who watched as the Commander jumped from his chair and pulled down the window latch, jumping out into open air. The soldiers helplessly observed him, and confused, scared chattering filled the room.

Once the Commander hit the ground safely, he began to sprint into the burning town.

"What's he doing?! Is he mad?!" Shouted one soldier.

"Don't shoot!" Yelled another.

They soon saw that their Commander was heading towards two horrified children standing alone in the destruction. He appear to be urging them to follow him, but they protested. After about five minutes of this, the children finally agreed to follow him. They each clung onto one of his arms, as he hurriedly rushed them away from the chaos. The Commander gave a signal to the pilot to land the airship, and the order was followed immediately.

But the time the Commander had made it inside, he was carrying both children, who seemed to be unconscious at this point. As bewildered soldiers surrounded him, he called desperately for the nurse.

"Nurse, come here immediately!" He cried, almost hysterical.

"...Sir? I'm here, calm down...who are these kids?" The nurse came jogging up,

"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that they're brothers. No questions, just save them! They breathed in too much smoke!"

"But, Your Highness! These aren't-"

"No questions! Just do as you are told!"

At this moment, Ness and Paula came rushing to the main level, where the discord was taking place. As Ness pushed his way through, he grew more worried about all the shouting.

"Commander! We saw you bring these kids in from this window! What happened…?!" Cried Ness. The Commander ignored the question and looked him sternly in the eye.

"I need to speak with you, General. Alone." He simply ordered. Ness didn't protest; he simply followed the ginger to the first room they saw. A weapon storage room. The minute they closed the door, the Commander kicked the wall in frustration.

"I saw them! The two boys I keep seeing in my dreams! They look nothing like those boys, but the look of terror they had! Please, tell me what's fucking wrong with me…!" The Commander shouted, grabbing at his hair and trying to rip it out. Ness ran to him and grabbed his shoulders to restrain him.

"Sir, please calm down! How are you having dreams, you're a chimera! Who are you seeing?" Asked Ness.

"The boys! The twins! Alone, in a forest caught ablaze...a drago! A drago was there! And the woman…the woman was dead! And the boys wept for her! And I keep seeing them!" Sobbed the Commander. Ness was dumbfounded upon seeing tears streaming down the other's pale face, an absolute look of devastation in his eyes, which were darting around the room as if the walls were on fire. Ness wasn't sure what to do; this was so different from his Commander's deadpan, flat personality. He was beginning to think that not having Jeff around to fix things was taking it's toll on the Second in Command's mental state.

"I keep seeing them! And I just had a dream...not too long ago! The boys! The elder one was mocking the younger one, playing some mind trick on him! And the hands...so many hands, General. Dragging the younger one, trying to tear him apart...I don't feel so good…" The Commander fell against a wall and slumped down, hands over his ears, rocking back and forth. He began to mutter unrecognizable speech.

"Sir, your circuits are fried…" Ness figured out. Tiny electrical sparks flashed around his authority figure's entire body, as he twitched violently.

"How could you do that...bad, stop that! Bad, bad, bad...bad...bad...you're being bad! It's your fault, Claus! Your fault! Bad...bad…" The Commander slurred, hitting his arm violently. Ness' heart skipped a beat. Did he just say ' _Claus'?_

" _..._ Sir?" He stooped down. His Commander grabbed onto him as soon as he was in touching distance. Ness flinched as nails dug into his skin, nearly drawing blood. Concerned, violet eyes met crazed red ones.

"I don't want to go home! If dad finds out...I did a bad thing! A bad, bad thing! Mom, she…! It was because of me! Wait...where am I?! Where's Lucas?! Who are yo-" The Commander suddenly began to choke, but only for a few seconds. After that, he froze, and fell against the shelf next to him, limp. Ness cried out and checked for a pulse. He was alive, much to his relief.

With a grunt, he lifted up the other and used his foot to open the door. A clutter of soldiers still gossiped and chattered about the recent interruption in the bombing. Ness, seeing that the nurse was busy tending to the twin boys, decided to take the Commander to the nurse's room himself. Before he pulled open the door, he caught sight of the laboratory. Maybe he could find some stuff to fix up the Commander. So of course, he veered over there instead.

As he creaked open the door, he expected to see Jeff, sitting in his chair, tinkering with some gadet or whatever. Much to his surprise, there was someone sitting in the room. The person turned their head, and Ness nearly dropped dead upon seeing their face. Large, round glasses, a clean, bowl cut...a cluster of freckles…

No, it wasn't Jeff. It was none other than…

"Orange Kid!" Ness cried in half surprise, half disappointment. The scientist gave him a sly, honeyed grin and stood up to approach him.

"Nice ta' see you again, Nessie! How long has it been, what, a hundred and some odd years?" Orange Kid quizzed, forcefully taking the Commander's limp body into his own arms and rushing him to a stretcher, without questioning the ordeal. Questions flooded Ness' mind so much, he couldn't find an answer.

"I...you...what?! How are you still alive? And so _young_?! You look no different than how I saw you last!" Ness marveled. Orange Kid only shrugged gleefully and skipped to a cabinet, where he put on a fresh pair of gloves and an apron.

"You didn't think the Master was gonna kill Jeff and _not_ have a backup plan, did you? He had me frozen around the time you were captured, and they just brought me back yesterday to replace Andonuts! And lemme tell ya...you haven't changed at all. You're a lot skinnier, though…" Observed Kid, as he began to inspect the unconscious Commander all over.

All of this sudden information was too much for Ness. He simply sat down at a chair nearby to gather his thoughts and confusion. First, his boss rescues two children from an enemy town. Second, he loses his mind in five seconds. Third, Orange Kid is back and more annoying than ever. Certainly one of the more exciting days in the army.

"Aha! Here we go...his memory wire is damaged." Discovered Kid, observing the circuit board on the Commander's back. He gently lifted a frayed blue wire.

"His _what?"_ Asked Ness.

"His memory wire. It connects to his mind and feeds it the information from the USB containing his fake memories of being here. I think it managed to glitch out and remind him of things that happened before he was in this army, so that's why he flipped out." Explained Kid. The puzzle pieces suddenly fit.

"Oh! So he must've seen those boys, and he might have been reminded of himself and his own twin." Suggested Ness. Kid shrugged.

"Alright, first...let's get rid of this little bugger." Kid reached down and pulled the USB out of the compartment at the back of the Commander's neck. A shiver went down Ness' spine. Suddenly, the USB was crushed in Kid's fist.

"N...no! Don't do that, that's what made him himself!" Cried Ness. Kid scoffed and threw the remains into the wastebasket.

"Chill out, Army Boy. We've got a spare. I'll just have to program it with recent memories, then he'll be back to his old self." Assured Kid, jumping into the spinny chair and gliding to the programming station. Ness flinched. That was _Jeff's_ chair. He walked over to observe Kid's work. His felt a sad pang of nostalgia watching his skinny fingers type, tinker, and write.

"Huh...that's odd…" Kid muttered.

"What?"

"I'm trying to delete this one memory...it's not moving." Kid clicked furiously on the mouse of the computer, trying to remove a file that was stuck on the spare USB's file storage. No matter what he did, it wouldn't move. Ness had a dragging feeling that this was the dreaded memory that caused Jeff's death; when the Commander had eavesdropped onto the conversation about his past self.

"There's no removing that one, Kid. It's stuck there." Claimed Ness. Kid sighed, frustrated, but shrugged.

"Alright, let's hope the Master doesn't kill me, too. It's done." He said, pulling the new, improved USB from it's computer slot. He walked over to the Second in Command, who was still sprawled out, face down and motionless. He clicked the USB into place, and quickly fixed up the damaged wire, before closing up the circuit board and stepping back. Ness sighed in relief as the ginger began to stir. He lifted himself up, groaning, and looked around.

"Goodness...I feel...strange." He murmured. His voice was deeper than usual, and his facial features seemed a bit more toned. Orange Kid flinched, upon seeing this.

"Oops...I might have forgotten to remove the age enhancement file…" He admitted. Ness' eyes widened.

"Well, how old is he now?" He cried.

"I'd saaayyy...maybe sixteen?" Kid squeaked nervously. Ness put a hand to his face in frustration. The Master never wanted his important workers to be more than fifteen years old. That way, their physical and mental abilities would be fresh and loyal. Despite the personality-removing technology they possessed, he was afraid that any higher up position older than fifteen would become rebellious.

"What are you two talking about? What happened to my jacket…?" The Commander lifted himself up, and inspected his uniform, concerned by the burn marks all over it. Ness guessed that they were caused by the fire from the bombs.

"Um…! Accident! That's all, heh…" Stammered Kid. The Commander narrowed his eyes at Kid.

"I suppose you're the replacement to Dr. Andonuts. A pleasure to meet you." He nodded to Orange Kid, who began to sweat nervously, overwhelmed by his authority figure's presence.

"I'm…" Kid gulped, "...I'm Doctor...um...Doctor Kid...ison. Yah! Dr. Kidison." Ness rolled his eyes. Despite Kid's brilliant academic abilities, his social idiocy was incredible.

"I'm grateful for your assistance in whatever you helped me with. Has anything gone wrong from my absence, General?" The Commander sternly asked. Ness shook his head.

"You were only unconscious for a few hours, Your Highness." He informed.

"Wonderful. If you would, could you restock the rifles? I've been forgetting to do it myself for days now." The Commander half requested, half ordered. Ness was slightly afraid that he would glitch out again. He wanted to tell him about how he saved those two boys, possibly because he was reminded of himself and Lucas. He wanted to tell him about how for only five seconds, he was not the Commander, but Claus. But for his friend's safety, he kept his mouth shut.

"Of course, sir," Ness said the familiar phrase with a sharp salute, "At your service."


	8. Chapter 7: I love y–

"So, here are my ideas."

Ness turned his drawing pad around to show Paula his creation. He had been put on chimera design duty for the month, a job he was actually excited about. Paula raised an eyebrow.

"A cat with guns for paws? It'd have trouble walking around, don't you think?" She asked. Ness frowned and looked back down at the hilariously bad drawing.

"It's not a cat, it's a bear." He pouted. Paula stifled laughter as best as she could.

"Whatever it is, I don't think guns on all four paws would make much sense." Commented Paula.

"Those are swords, not guns."

"I now understand why you dropped out of middle school. One, you can't draw for shit, and two, you obviously don't understand animal anatomy."

"And because I was kidnapped against my will and forced to work for a sadistic army in order to keep my family alive."

"Yeah, there's that too."

Both of them laughed. As Ness rambeled on and on about his ideas for new chimeras, Paula felt more nostalgic. Even through traumatizing battles and body mutilation, Ness still had that little sense of typical teenage boy in him. For example, he kept a butterfly with chainsaws for wings as one of his finalist ideas.

After a while, Ness ran out of ideas, so he put down the notepad and leaned against the wall they were sitting against. Paula turned to him, and important question on her mind.

"Ness? I was wondering." She started.

"Hm?" Was the reply.

"I know this isn't the happiest idea...but, now that Jeff is gone, we don't have to worry about convincing him to escape with us anymore. We can just...go. Let's do it." Paula urged, nudging her friend. Ness' eyes widened, and he began to sat something. However, he stopped. It was true, Jeff had been stopping them from escaping. But now, he was gone. They could leave...finally escape the army…

"...No." Stated Ness. Paula scoffed.

"Ness! Come on, we've been dreaming about this for _years_! Look, I know this is the place where Jeff died, and you want to pay your respects, but come on! You know he would to have wanted us to–"

"This isn't about Jeff."

Paula made a small surprised noise. Ness' eyes were darker and sadder than usual. He looked hollow.

"What…?"

"I want to get out of here as much as you do. But I am not leaving without Claus."

Paula narrowed her eyes, "Who?"

"Claus."

"Ness, come on…"

Ness made fists, and his eyes narrowed, "Paula, we have to help him! If you want to go ahead and leave me here, go for it. But I am staying until I find that USB and I get his memories back."

"Jeff hid it, though! We'll never find it! With his knowledge, he could've encased it in _stone_ and use the stone to build something." Argued Paula. Ness growled and turned away from her.

"Well, looks like I have a bit of work to do, don't I?" He spat. As he began to walk away, Paula stared sadly at the jacket he was wearing. The familiar, green jacket that Jeff treasured. Now, it was tattered and bloody. She teared up a bit, remembering her friend. Paula and Jeff didn't always get along, but they were close. They were family.

She wondered how Pu would react if he found out about Jeff's death. She wondered where Pu _was,_ for that matter. The Master had originally tried to capture him, but Pu was too skilled and quick, and managed to escape.

' _He would've been a good soldier.'_ Paula thought to herself. She hoped he was doing well, wherever he was.

"Um, Captain? We're called on deck." The voice of a soldier from Paula's team alerted her.

"Ah, yes. Thank you. I'm coming." Replied Paula, standing up with a grunt. She glanced back at the direction Ness had gone, and saw burnt footprints on the floor. She smiled a bit. She thought it was cute when he literally overheated when he got irritated.

Come to think of it, everything about him was cute.

"Ma'am!"

"I'm coming!"

* * *

"Alright, kitten-whiskers. This town does _not fuck around._ We have to step up our game, or we're going to be nothing but fodder. And I'm not saying that as a figure of speech! This town is filled with _flesh eaters_. Cannibals, as some may call them. It's going to be difficult, but if you are alert at all times, we can survive this."

In the announcement hall, line apon line of soldiers stood, knees locked and hands behind their backs. They watched, silently, as their authority figures described the battle plan. The Captains of each team stood in a formal line behind a circle consisting of the main Colonel, the Lutenaint, the Commander, and of course, the General.

Ness had been explaining the village and who lived in it. The team had recently come across a town filled with cannibals. Of course, it would be safer just to bomb it, but the Master insisted that their genetic ability to tear through flesh and bone, quote on quote, "just simply _had_ to be used for more destruction."

"They are not like normal humans, these guys are _beserk._ They will stop at nothing to kill you. If you are a PSI user who is capable of shield and healing spells, you'd better stock up on PP. You're gonna need it." Explained Ness. He tried not to grin at the wave of shudders through the crowd before him.

"Er, yes. That's one way to put it. But I believe what our General is trying to say is that this group of villagers have superhuman abilities in speed, strength, and stamina. They also…"

The voice of his Commander droned out as Ness glanced behind him to catch sight of Paula, standing with the other Captains. She winked at him, and he winked back. He was glad they had made up. Sure, Ness and Paula had arguments all the time, but not about anything this serious.

"...Your General is now going to show routes you will be taking."

Ness snapped to attention and stepped forward.

"As you can see, up on the projection," Ness gestured to the map projected on a screen above him, "our route is very confusing. Each line is colour coded. For Group number 1, you are yellow. You will be taking the fastest way, and will be the first to strike. Group number 2, you are purple. Even if you make it to the village before Group number 1, do not attack until they do. Keep yourselves hidden."

Ness continued to assign groups until every soldier had a place to go. Afterwards, the soldiers were dismissed, and the hall emptied. His heart sank upon seeing two smaller soldiers trying to keep up; two twin boys. The ones that the Commander had rescued.

"Ten years old…" He muttered out loud.

"Pardon?" The Commander looked up from the map on the display table.

"Those two boys you saved...already being thrown into battle. Disgusting." Said Ness, bitterly.

"You dare insult the Master's way of doing things?" The Commander advanced on Ness in his usual fashion, but Ness was used to it by now. He stood his ground.

"I do. It isn't right, those two boys should at least be given age enhancers. If we send them into battle at this age, they'll die before they can even land a hit on anybody. And without any training? Sir, you can't possibly think this is a good idea."

"The Master wants fresh, agile soldiers. And the sooner they learn how to fight the hard way, the more they'll toughen up."

"But they are _children_!"

" _So was I!"_

Ness staggered back. So did the Commander. He seemed as if he was genuinely surprised at what he'd just said, weirded out by his own words. The ginger's eyes filled with a bit of anger, a bit of nervousness, and a bit of confusion.

"Wait...no, that can't be right, I was manufactured. I've never been a child...I...I'm going to go lower down for a bit, my mind is all over the place." The Commander turned and jogged out of the room.

"...Very smooth, lover boy."

Ness jumped, startled at Paula's sudden entrance. She smirked teasily up at him, and he scowled.

"Whatever."

"Oh, come on. Lighten up! You should be happy."

"Why?"

"Well, how do I say this? Why did our Commander say that he was a kid when he joined this army, when he was programmed to believe he was manufactured? Hmm, I don't know. Could it be that he's remembering parts of his true self?" Suggested Paula in a smug, sarcastic tone. Ness realized she had a point. Maybe Claus _did_ have a chance at returning.

"Whatever it means, we have to keep a close eye on him. Haven't you heard? The eighth needle's been found. He's heading out in a week or so." Explained Ness. Paula's eyes widened.

"Huh, that was quick. Hopefully that dumbass Lucas boy doesn't screw it up." She smirked.

"No, we _want_ him to screw it up. If Lucas accesses the power of the Dark Dragon, he could use it's power to destroy this army and everything it stands for." Ness told her. Paula shrugged. They sat down on a bench nearby and stayed there in silence. It was so quiet, Paula could hear her heart beating. It would be impossible for anyone to be in here…

"...Hey, Ness?" She muttered after a few moments.

"Hm?"

"So...I was wondering...maybe...if I survive the raid tonight, uh...maybe you'd...like to…"

"You okay? We don't have to discuss this now, if that's what you want–"

"N–no! I may not have another chance to tell you! In case I die…"

"Then...what is it?" Ness turned to look Paula in the eye, sending shivers down her spine. _His eyes were so beautiful._

"Ness, I–"

" _General!_ Emergency, the Ultimate Chimera has escaped! Three of us are dead!" A soldier came scrambling into the room, out of breath and covered in blood. Ness stood up, terrified. He sprinted to the soldier who was already losing consciousness at this point. In the distance, Ness heard screams and the growls of a chimera. He lifted up the soldier and carried him to Paula.

"Look after him. I'll take care of this." He told her, and he was gone. Paula opened her mouth to protest, but Ness was already out the door. She frowned in frustration and looked down at the wounded soldier, who had passed out. She reluctantly unbuttoned his uniform and winced at his injury; three long, open gashes which were bleeding furiously. She couldn't find any bits of fabric to clean it, so she ripped off the bottom of her uniform jacket and pressed it to the wound.

Outside, she heard what she guessed to be three people screaming in either pain or horror.

' _Any of them could've been Ness…'_ Paula thought.

She hoped he'd be alright.

* * *

 _Where have I seen this before?_

…

 _There's blood. A lot of it._

…

"Your Highness! _Get out of there!"_

Who was that? Who had just called to him? Whoever it was, the Commander couldn't listen. He couldn't move at all. Everything hurt. Upon opening his eyes, he saw a struggle in front of him. He couldn't exactly see who or what was struggling, but he could see a large flash of pink.

"S...sir…! Hurry…!"

That voice was familiar.

" _Please!_ I can't hold it off much longer…!"

Hold on…

" _Claus!"_

The Commander's eyes widened and he glanced around. He leaped to his feet and finally saw the struggle.

His General was there. He was locked into a stare-down with none other than the Ultimate Chimera, it's eyes fiery and teeth bared. Ness had a tight grip of the creature's claws, which were already beginning to slice through his skin. Meanwhile, he was pushing his foot against the bottom jaw of the chimera, keeping it from closing it's mouth. He turned to look at the Commander with frightened, desperate eyes.

" _Hurry! Go!"_ Ness shouted _._ The Commander finally came to his senses, and quickly ran to his General's side, putting extra force on the chimera and pushing it back against the wall.

"Climb on top of it, push the button on it's back!" Ness told him.

"But it'll kill you!"

" _So be it!"_

" _General!_ "

"Claus, just do it!"

' _Who is Claus?'_ Was the only thought running through the Commander's mind as he pushed his way up to the chimera's back. However, the minute his hand left it's jaw, Ness lost grip, being knocked to the floor. Before the chimera managed to attack, the Commander pushed the button, and instantly, the chimera fell to the floor, limp. It's paw landed on top of Ness, it's claws puncturing his chest. The triggered a panicked, agonized yell.

" _Oh God!_ I'm sorry, hold on!" The Commander jumped off of took a knee, lifting the creature's paw with a grunt and setting it aside. One of its claws came loose, but remained stuck through Ness' skin. He didn't remove it, knowing that would make it bleed more.

 _Suddenly, he was in a forest. A fire raged around him. Beside him was his dearest brother, and below him was his mother, her breathing growing shallower and shallower._

" _Mom! Mom, please!" Claus sobbed, burying his face in her neck._

"W...what was that, s-sir?"

The Commander was back in the lab. He glanced around, the sudden memory of the forest gone.

"General, listen, I need you to breathe–"

"Oh my _god!_ What did you do?!"

A shrill, panicked voice caused both Ness and the Commander to glance up. Paula was running as fast as she could towards the scene, and dropped to her knees beside Ness. She pulled him up and supported him with her arms. She looked up and glared at the Commander with furious eyes.

"What the _hell_ did you do to him?!" She demanded, ignoring Ness' broken calls, telling her to quit it.

"Excuse me? What gave you the right to talk to me in such a fashion? I'll have you know I was trying to _help_ him, Factory Chimera #398." Spat the Commander, returning to his state of authority and standing up. Paula let go of Ness and stood up to face her boss. Ness began to panic. Paula, when challenged, was incredibly competitive and had a bit of a temper issue.

"If you hadn't been attacked in the first place, he would be hurt like this!" Shot Paula, taking a step forward.

"Are you actually trying to blame _me_ for this?" Responded the Commander, doing the same.

"To put it into simpler terms, _yes!_ I am! And I saw you stab him with the chimera's claw! What are you trying to do, kill him?!"

"I have a good idea! How about instead of arguing, you guys get me _help?!"_ Ness choked with the remaining strength he had. After this, he went limp, and everything went dark. But he was still conscious.

Ness looked around. Where was he? Suddenly, before him, a person appeared. A woman. A very beautiful woman, with a graceful figure and a kind face. She took a step towards him.

"Thank you." She said.

"Huh?" Ness was confused.

"You saved my son. You saved him from a chimera, but was mortally wounded in the process yourself. I did the same thing, years ago."

"Wait...are you Claus' mom?"

"I should say I was. But I am not anymore. Nesley, you must protect him now. I know you love my son," The woman giggled, "I think it's cute. You must use that love to take care of him. He is still a thirteen year old boy at heart, and is in a very dangerous position. He is strong, yes, but sometimes, his emotions can overpower his strength."

"Yes, I've seen that...Miss, how do you know my name?" Ness wondered, tipping his head to the side.

"I know a lot about you, Nesley. I am but a spirit, therefore I can easily learn the story of someone's life. And I am so sorry that your story had such an unhappy outcome. You were destined for greatness, you know. All those years ago, you were going to grow into a clever, handsome young man. That is...until your Master changed all of that. Pokey Minch, I believe his name was." Recalled the woman. Ness flinched.

"I hate hearing that name. Um...miss, could you tell me how I can get Claus' memories back?" He asked.

"Dear, call me Hinawa. Why would you want to restore his memory?" Questioned Hinawa.

"Because...because I love him. I want to know him, the _real_ him. I want to save him from a life of misery, under the rule if the Master. I don't want him to go through what I did." Ness explained reluctantly. A warm smile crossed Hinawa's face. She glided over to Ness and took his face in her hands. Her hands felt like silk.

"Memories of one's true self cannot be forced upon someone. Claus will remember who he is in his own time. What I suggest you do is wait. The time will come when everything will come flooding back to him." Said Hinawa, brushing a stray lock of hair out of Ness' eyes. Ness felt a warmth he hadn't felt since be last saw his own mother. This brought him to tears.

"Sometimes, under the influence of my authority...I forget that I'm just a little kid. I'm sixteen years old, but I act so much older...so does your son. But I promise I'll do my best to protect him. That's the one priority of a General anyways, right?" Ness sniffed. Hinawa sighed gently.

"Yes. But please, for my sake, do not protect him because it is your role in this army. Protect him because you _love him._ Just as I did. I never cared for him just because that's what a mother does, I cared for him because he was the most important thing to me, apart from his brother. I request you do the same." As her sentence ended, Hinawa's voice grew quieter. Her body began to fade.

"H–Hinawa! Please, don't leave yet! I have so many questions!" Pleaded Ness, reaching his hands out to try and grab her.

"I know that. But when you wake up in the real world, you will discover most of the answers yourself. Take care of him, Nesley. In return, I've been taking care of someone you loved years ago." Hinawa gestured to a small figure emerging shyly from behind her dress. A familiar, innocent face peered up at Ness, only making his tears grow thicker.

"Big brother!"

"...Tracy…?"

The image of his little sister's face faded as Ness drifted back to reality.

* * *

"All I wanted was to rest! Just to have some time time myself! But noooo, that dumbass chimera has to escape from it's cage again and kill half of our soldiers! I am going to be up for the next week!" The nurse angrily muttered to himself as he walked around the hospital room, inspecting multiple injured soldiers. Most of them were near death, but a few managed to escaped with minor injuries. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Let me guess," He spat sarcastically, "someone's been stabbed."

"Emergency! Our General has been stabbed!" Shouted Paula as she burst through the door, holding Ness' limp body in her arms.

"Fucking god!"

The nurse took Ness into his own arms and laid him onto a vacant bed. He checked for a pulse, a heartbeat, and breathing. He couldn't find any. Panicked, he began to prepare for any need for surgery. Paula glanced at her friend, concerned.

"Is...is he dead?" She whimpered.

"Well, yes," Replied the nurse, receiving a slight scream from Paula, "Nothing we can't fix! It didn't damage his heart or lungs it seems, so we should be able to bring him back. He is a chimera after all, darling." Assured the nurse. He reached over to grab a radio from his desk, and tuned it to Orange Kid's channel.

"Dr. Kidison, we have a need for your technology. Quick, come to my office with your surgery tools."

"I'm on my way! Oh boy, my first surgery job!"

Paula was then ushered outside. Despite her pleading to stay inside, she was forced to wait. Stubbornly, she plopped herself down on a bench and sighed. She watched as multiple soldiers with water buckets and mops began to clean up around the area. There was a serious bloody mess left behind by the Ultimate Chimera.

"Shit, what are we gonna do tonight?" She thought. The raid tonight was going to be the most difficult one they'd ever had, and half of the soldiers were gone. Not to mention, if the final needle was pulled by the Lucas boy, the Dark Dragon could be used to destroy the army and everyone in it. There'd be no way to defend themselves. She hid her face in her hands and began to sob quietly. Everything was falling apart.

"I really was trying to save him, you know."

Paula looked up, seeing her Commander sitting on the bench beside her. He looked just as miserable as she felt.

"I believe you," Paula admitted, "I was just scared, and mad, and…" She was interrupted by her own broken voice.

"You and the General are very good friends, yes?"

"Very. We've know each other for over a hundred years."

"Over a hundred?" The Commander paused, "So...that means you knew him when he was still a human?" He asked curiously.

"Well, yah." Paula told him.

Silence.

"What was he like?" He whispered. Paula eyed him, shocked. The Commander was staring at the floor. She even noticed a small tint of pink in his face. She shook her head and smiled.

"Goodness, he was...amazing. Always so upbeat, and happy, and nice…" She breathed, remembering the bright eyed, sassy teenager she knew so long ago, "...He was really confident. He taught me to be confident too, and so many other things. He taught me...how to be myself and not be ashamed about it." She felt tears returning.

"I see. You loved him."

"I still do. But...he has his eye on another person right now."

"That's a shame. Do you know who it is?"

Paula froze. She stammered nervously, "...Uhh...no! I don't! Why on Earth would I know that, ya' know?"

"Hm," The Commander stood up and turned to Paula, "Well, I wish you luck on your battle tonight. You are a very talented soldier, #398."

"Er...thank you, sir?" Replied Paula.

"And also, don't be ashamed. I can sense it off of you." The Commander told her.

"Huh?"

"You love our General, right? Well, don't be ashamed by it. I can tell you're embarrassed. Now, I'm not so good with advice, but what I suggest is...you love him, so be happy about it."

"Why are you telling me this? Why should I be happy about loving him?"

There was a pause from the other, then he gave Paula a barely noticeable smile.

"...Because I do too."

And with that, be left, leaving behind a shocked, open-mouthed Paula.

* * *

"Who is that at the door?"

Ness stared at the ceiling as Orange Kid constantly worked on his damaged circuit plate. Hysterical pounding came from the door, and muffled shouting. He was slightly concerned, but decided to let someone else handle it.

"Probably your lady friend. Paula's been camping out there for a while now." Explained Kid, replacing a few of the screws holding the plate down.

"Will you stop calling her that? Me and Paula aren't...you know, dating or anything." Ness protested, softly hitting Kid's arm with a weak hand. Kid gave him a teasing smirk and shrugged.

"I don't knoooowww, you two are pretty close." Slurred Kid. Ness, who barely had enough strength to keep himself awake, sighed and decided not to argue. The knocking at the door faded, and a small scuffle could be heard outside. Lots of screaming, and thumping. He frowned, concerned. As the noise faded, he heard his name being yelled out to him. Of course, not his actual name. Only Paula, Kid, and the Master knew Ness' real name.

Then again, only the Master knew his _real, real_ name.

' _Nesley…'_ Ness repeated in his thoughts. He hadn't heard that name in a while. The name that had been called to him by his family so many years ago. He still remembered the day he insisted that the name was too "nerdy", and everyone had to call him "Ness" because it sounded cooler. He couldn't recall ever telling Paula, Jeff, or Pu about his birth name.

"Alright, you're all fixed up." Announced Kid, putting down his screwdriver and wiping sweat off his forehead. Ness sat up and winced at the slight ache in his torso.

"Jesus, you work fast." Ness told him. Kid smiled arrogantly and shrugged.

"I always have. Now, you should be in good enough shape to attend the raid tonight, but I suggest wearing a _lot_ of armor. Cannibals are nothing to mess around with. Also, I left the stack of injury and death reports you need to fill out on your desk in your office. Have fun with those." Sneered Kid. Ness scowled at him, muttered a quick thanks, and sped out of the office. Upon entering his office, there was indeed a stack of papers as tall as a couple of dictionaries.

"Might as well start now…" He growled, taking a seat and picking up his pen. Ness managed to finish about four injury reports and one death notice before a fierce knocking sounded at his door.

"Ness!" Paula's muffled voice shouted, "Ness, I _really_ need to tell you something!"

"If this what you needed to tell me back in the auditorium?" Ness called.

"No, actually! Please open up, it's important!"

Ness stood up and unlocked the door, allowing Paula to burst in. She nearly fell upon entering but quickly regained her balance and faced her friend.

"Whoa, what is it? What's wrong?" Be asked her.

"Nothing! I have _good_ news! It's about the Commander!" She said, putting her hands on his shoulders and shaking him a little.

"Really?! Did he get his memories back?" Asked Ness.

"No, but it's something equally as great!"

"Well, what is it?"

"He–!"

' _Attention! All soldiers involved in tonight's combat are called to the main floor. Repeat, all soldiers involved in tonight's combat are called to the main floor.'_

Upon hearing the voice over the intercom, Ness grabbed Paula's hand and led her out of the room.

"Wait, Ness! I really gotta tell you this!" She protested.

"It can wait! Tell me after the battle!"

"But what if one of us dies?!"

"We'll be fine! Nothing's gonna happen to either of us, okay? I'll see you afterwards." Ness went down a hallways where authority figures would go in this situation, where Paula bitterly shook her head and went down the hallway for soldiers. On the main floor, she was fitted with armour and given a gun, one that was bigger than her defense pistol.

"Alright, troops! As mentioned before, these are _superhumans._ They have evolved with a craving for human flesh, and will tear any of you apart easily if you let your guard down. The guns you have do not kill these creatures, they tranquilize them. If you survive, you will assist in caging these creatures and packing them onto the ship. We are going to be landing soon, so I want you going out there with determination and courage!" The Lieutenant paced back and forth, hands behind her back as she explained the battle. The floor shook, alerting them that the ship had landed.

Paula's eyes glanced around to possibly catch sight of Ness. He stood at the front, facing the soldiers, next to the Commander. There was so much she wanted to tell him, but now was not the time for that.

The doors suddenly opened, and the floor of soldiers poured out into the village. Paula grit her teeth. There was no turning back now.

* * *

They were ready. The Cannibals, they were ready. They must've known about the attack, for they had set off a large explosion once the army reached the center of the village.

Everything was blurry. Ness managed to lift himself up, however, his arms were weak and one was probably broken. The searing pain travelled through his entire body. He coughed suddenly, sending ashes, blood, and dirt from his mouth. His vision cleared a bit, but he could barely hear a single thing. Muffled screams and cries echoed around him.

Then he saw the fire. Trees, grass, and dead soldiers were consumed by angry flames, it's smoke reaching the sky and turning it black. Suddenly, he couldn't see anymore. Blood from a wound above his eyes had dripped into his vision, causing him to blink multiple times to try and get it out.

Ness dragged himself along the ground in a desperate attempt to find safety. _Where was the ship_ , he thought? The pressure on his broken arm was unbearable, but both of his legs refused to work, so he settled with pushing himself across the bloodstained dirt. Where were his soldiers? He was an authority figure, why weren't they helping him?

That's when he realized that most of them were probably dead. The cannibals had fled their village, and had created a trap that would ignite a bomb when the soldiers arrived. Ness wasn't sure how big it was, but it must've been pretty big due to the amount of destruction everywhere. An overwhelming sense of dread washed over him. So many lives lost in a few short minutes.

"N...Ness…" Croaked a voice. Ness looked around. But couldn't see who had called his name. But then he realized; only one combat soldier knew his name.

"Paula? Paula!" He cried, his voice barely over a small yell. With each word he said, he felt blood and ash rise in his throat.

"O–ver...he–re, Ness…" Rasped Paula. Ness followed her voice and crawled towards it. Eventually spotting her familiar face. Her face was caked with dust and blood, her hair was frizzy and ruined, and her usually bright eyes were now dull. Ness struggled over to her and lifted her up into his arms while sitting on his knees.

"Paula...oh my god…" He sobbed, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face. She gave him a weak, twitchy smile.

"They really got us, didn't they?" She said, breathing heavy, raspy breaths.

"Ssh...don't talk, save your strength." Ness gave her a tearful, grieving smile.

"N–no...I have to tell you, Ness…"

"You can tell me later, we'll get you f–fixed up, and you'll b–be okay, right?! We'll make you b–better…!" Years streamed down Ness' dust stained face.

"Ness, listen to me…" Paula reached up shakily and put a hand to his face. Her hand was cold and quivering. She paused mid sentence.

"What is it?" Asked Ness, putting his own hand to hers, which rested on his cheek. Paula's eyes widened, and she began to convulse. This couldn't be happening. He stared at her in horror as she slowly began to drift away.

"Ness...Ness, I love y–"

The convulsions stopped. Her hand cell from his face and landed with a dull thud. Her eyes quickly clouded over. She looked peaceful now. Ness shook her.

"Paula…?" He whispered. He shook her again, this time too hard, as she fell from his arms and onto the ground. No response.

"Paula? Paula, can you hear me?! Come on, we gotta go! Come on! It's time to go, we gotta get out of here! Don't you want to escape?! Isn't that what you've _always wanted?!"_ Ness screamed, before collapsing in hysterical sobs. Again, he got no response.

"Wrong _fucking_ answer, Paula! You would have said yes to that! So that's what you're gonna do, just leave me alone here?!" Ness picked up his friend and shook her again, but she simply fell back to the ground. A sudden cold sensation pricked at Ness; it was raining. He watched as the rain doused some of the fire around him, and looked down to see it washing some of the dirt off of Paula's face. Her eyes were closed now, she looked like she was sleeping. Ness grit his teeth and balled his hands into fists so tightly that his fingernails drew blood in his palms.

"You let me be subjected into a lifetime for torture, kill one of my friends, then kill my _best friend?! Is this really what you want for me?!"_ He screamed, looking up at the sky. He was talking to whoever was up there. Whether it be God, his guardian angel, whoever. He was talking to somebody. Anybody. _Everybody._

Ness looked back down in defeat and sobbed quietly, picking up Paula's body and hugging it tightly. He breathed in her flowery, familiar scent. He felt her eyelashes on his neck. Sensations he'd never experience again.

And what she had said to him.

 _I love you._

She hadn't completed the sentence, but Ness knew what she wanted to say. And he loathed the fact that he never got to respond, he never got to tell her just how much he cared about her. Though he didn't love her back, Paula was probably the most important thing in his life at this point.

And now she was gone.

Forever.

All those years they had spent together.

Gone.

Everything.

Was fucking.

 _Gone._

 _And he was never going to get any of it back._

Ness leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Paula…" He whispered to her, "...I'll always be there for you, even if you're not here...I'll always be at your service…"


	9. Chapter 8: Just Kiss Him!

"We've found the exact coordinates of the eighth needle, finally."

"Hm."

"Is there anything you can say to your higher up rather than a single grunt?"

Ness and his Commander sat alone in one of the planning rooms. They didn't have much work to be done, so they simply sat. The Commander, obviously feeling slightly sorry for his General, was trying to take his mind off of the unfortunate death of Soldier #398.

"I understand how hard this must be on you, but…" The Commander trailed off.

"But what? We're you going to tell me to just put it behind me and carry on? Because it doesn't entirely work like that, your Highness." Ness snapped.

"You are to call me that with a sense of respect, not sarcasm."

"Oh my, _do_ forgive me."

"Now you're just being unreasonable."

" _You're_ being unreasonable."

"General, you are not respecting the guidelines of speech!"

" _You're_ not respecting the guidelines of speech."

"Now you're being immature."

" _You're_ being immature."

The Commander sighed and glared at the other, who was miserably slumped in his chair, unlike his usual tall, straight-backed position, one leg gently crossed over the other.

"If the Master sees you sitting in such a way, he'll have you executed for sure." Warned the Commander. Ness scoffed.

"Good, let him. I've already lost everything anyways." He muttered.

"You still have us." Suggested the Commander, shrugging his shoulders.

"That's not the same. Jeff and Paula were family, the only family I had left."

"Ah, so her name was Paula?"

"Oh…! Shit...uh, yah, but don't tell anyone I told you." Ness scolded himself.

"It's a very pretty name. She was a very pretty girl altogether."

"Umm...yes? She was…" Ness eyed the Commander suspiciously. He had changed a lot ever since Jeff's death. He smiled more, he spoke with a softer tone, and even complimented people sometimes. Hinawa had been right, Claus would find himself eventually. But the task to pull the eighth needle was coming, and when it was pulled, who knew what the consequences would be.

"You're pretty, too."

Ness made a small, surprised noise at his Commander's sudden remark. Did he hear that correctly?

"Um...sorry, sir?" Ness stammered.

"Well, I guess...you're...ahem...er...you're okay, I guess. I'm not saying that I...that I'm trying to...I didn't mean that like...um…" It seemed that the Commander was at a serious loss of words, something Ness had never seen before. He always knew what to say and how to say it, he never recalled hearing him stutter before.

A dozen thoughts ran through his head. Was his Commander trying to _flirt_ or something? If he was. That was incredibly out of character for him. Nonetheless, watching him search for the right thing to say made Ness go red in the face. Each time Claus began to return, he felt himself falling deeper and deeper in love.

"Sir." He said to silence him.

"Y–yes…?!" The Commander replied. Ness gave him a smile.

" _Stop talking."_ Ness snickered. A year ago, he would have been slapped across the face for saying a remark like that. But today, his Commander simply swallowed nervously and nodded. He then made some dumb excuse to leave, but Ness wasn't really listening. He just watched, hypnotized, as the Commander left the room in an embarrassed panic.

"He's so amazing…" Ness sighed to himself quietly.

"He really is."

The sudden voice startled him, making him jump and look around the room, heart pounding. No one was there. He could have sworn he'd heard the voice of a woman, but not a soul was in sight. The voice was so familiar, however.

"Don't be afraid, child. It's me." Said the voice again. Ness calmed down.

"Hinawa? Where are you?" He called to the empty room. _That's_ where he'd heard that voice.

"I am not in a visible form at the moment. But I am around. Look." Before Ness could question her, he felt an ice cold sensation run up his spine, like a finger made of pure snow. He let out a frightened screech and jumped away. Hinawa's spirit laughed.

"Sorry. I couldn't help it!"

"It's okay...I'm glad you're here! Good news, Claus is coming back! Did you see any of that?" Ness excitedly gestured to the table he'd been sitting at.

"I did. I saw all of it. I'm very proud of you, Nesley. You're being incredibly patient with him. But...there's a problem that I need your help with." Said Hinawa.

"What's up?"

"It's seems that though Claus is returning back to his normal self, there is a certain memory that doesn't seem to want to go back. This memory is important, and if he doesn't get it back soon, he may never fully revert back to who he was. That's where I need you, Nesley. I need you to get that memory back to him." Explained Hinawa.

"Wait, what? What memory is it?"

"When Claus was eight, he kissed a girl behind our house. It was his first time, and that is when he learned what love was. That memory is why he has the ability of PK Love. However, if he pulls the needle without love in his mind, it's powers can be used for evil rather than good. If you restore this memory that he cannot restore himself, then no matter who pulls the final needle, the world can be saved."

A flash of hope flew by Ness. That is, until he realized exactly what Hinawa was asking him to do.

"You want me to recreate the memory." He guessed.

"Well...yes, but…"

"So you want me to kiss him."

"Yes, that's exactly what I want you to do."

"Noooo way! Nuh-uh, I will not do that! No, no, no, no! That is _gross!"_ Ness crossed his arms and sat down with a huff, pouting. As much as he wanted the Dark Dragon to be used for good, there was absolutely _no_ way he'd actually kiss someone.

"But–" Hinawa was interrupted.

"Don't you 'but' me! Here, I've got a better idea. There's a USB stick somewhere in this laboratory that contains _all_ of his memories. I'll just go find that, and...I don't know, plug it into him when he isn't looking or whatever." Ness decided. Hinawa sighed.

"I suppose that could work. It would also help with returning some other needed memories. Alright, we'll go with that plan instead." Sighed Hinawa.

"There's only one problem...I have no idea where the USB is." Ness admitted.

"Hm...hold on…"Hinawa was silent for a few moments, until she laughed silently.

"What? Do you know where it is?"

"Not entirely. Wear Jeffrey Andonuts' jacket, and you'll find it." Hinawa's voice began to fade away, as it normally did when she was done visiting Ness.

"Wait, what?" Ness groaned in frustration. Hinawa always left when he needed her the most. He thought to himself. Wear Jeff's jacket? Why? He had previously been ordered to take it off permanently due to the Master's orders. He shrugged, and got up to go to his room, when the jacket hung on the wall.

He removed his uniform coat and donned Jeff's bloody, torn jacket. It sent a shiver up his spine wearing it, but he beared through the painful memories and waited. Nothing was happening. He sighed and left his room, guessing that the answer would come to him later.

Hinawa knew what she was talking about, right?

* * *

" _Claus?"_

 _The ginger flinched as he slowly turned, facing his twin brother, who poked his head from their bedsheets. Claus put a finger to his lips, gesturing for him to quiet down._

" _Why are you up? Where are you going?" Lucas asked, whispering this time. Claus glanced up at their sleeping father to make sure he was asleep, then motioned for Lucas to follow him. The blond slid out of bed and followed his brother, his bare feet making small pitter-patter noises in the wooden floor. He followed Claus until they were outside, and a fair distance away from the house._

" _Alright, that should be far enough." Claus said out loud._

" _Where are you going?" Lucas repeated._

" _I didn't want to tell you about this. I tried to sneak past you...but...you won't leave until I tell you, huh?" Guessed Claus. Lucas nodded with concerned eyes. Claus sighed and sat down. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a fair sized object._

" _So I was looking around in Dad's cupboard, and I found this."_

" _That's his knife! Me and him made that a long time ago out of a dragosaur fang that we found in the forest." Lucas explained. His face was fairly cheerful, remembering the pleasant day he knife was made, but his cheer fell into horror once he came to a realization. Only a dragosaur fang could pierce through another's tough, shielding scales._

" _Wait…" Lucas muttered, "...Oh, no. Claus, no, you can't!"_

" _That thing killed our mom, and nobody's doing anything about it! I have to take it into my own hands!" Claus stated._

" _No! You're gonna die! You saw what that thing did to mom! Imagine what it could do to you!" Lucas grabbed hold of Claus' arm, who pulled back._

" _Mom wasn't ready! I will be! I know I can do this, Lucas. I know I can."_

" _Well…" Lucas paused, doubting his choice, "...if you're going, I am too!" Claus' eyes widened._

" _W–what?! No, Lucas, you can't!"_

" _Please! I agree with you, someone needs to kill it! If I come with you, I can finally prove to everyone that I'm not as weak and pathetic as they think I am!" Lucas pleaded. Claus shook his head._

" _No!"_

" _Why not?! Do you think I'm not strong enough too?" Lucas cried._

" _Shh! What're you trying to do, wake up the whole village?! It's not that I don't think you're strong enough, it's just...I mean, you are! Mentally strong, sure. But physically…" Claus trailed off. He had said the wrong thing. He met Lucas' defeated eyes, which were tearing up. He reached forward to touch his shoulder, but was violently shoved away to the ground. Lucas grit his teeth as he stood up._

" _You're just like everyone else! You don't want me weighing you down! You know what? Find! Go out there on your own and get yourself killed! Because when they bring your body back, I'm just gonna say 'I told you so!'" Lucas sobbed, before turning around and sprinting back to the house._

" _Lucas, wait!" Claus called. He paused. If he wasted much more time here, he wouldn't be able to return home by the next day. With a heavy longing to apologize to his brother, he turned around and ran into the direction of the forest, disappearing into the night with the blade in hand._

"Lucas! I'm so sorry!"

"Sir, are you okay?!"

The Commander's eyes widened as he realized where he was. The sudden memory that had taken him over was gone now. He turned to see a few soldiers facing him, concerned.

"I...yes. I'm just fine." He said.

"Okay, but...who is Lucas? Are you talking about the kid who's trying to fight us?" Asked one of the soldiers.

"I don't know! Just...leave me be." Requested the Commander. The soldiers gave a quick salute and walked away, leaving him alone. He realized that he was in the main hallway of the underground headquarters. He sighed and regained his composure, brushing off the vision and remembering what he needed to do. He had been given the task of observing the training session that day.

The Commander quickly jogged to the training hall, where he heard the echoes of exclamations and yells, accompanied by the clashing of swords. He managed to pay attention quite well, until his eyes landed on the General, who practiced by himself in the corner. He currently had only a tank top on over his usual cargo pants, revealing various wires and mechanical necessities.

Though the General was pretty scrawny, he was strong. Every swing, strike, and block he practiced was perfectly composed. Despite his obviously visible ribs, he seemed to have excellent core strength and kept himself balanced easily. His eyes had an absolute look of determination. The Commander was uncertain of what he was so determined to do, but he sent a silent prayer hoping he'd do it.

Suddenly, the General looked up and caught sight of him. He gave a smile and waved. The Commander jumped a bit and gave a nervously wave of his hand back. The other gave him a funny look, then shrugged and went back to his training. The Commander's heart began to pound and his hands began to shake. It was absolute torture watching the General like this, but he couldn't bring himself to look away.

This was love, right?

He had previously told Soldier #398...or, 'Paula', that he loved the General. But in reality, he had no idea what love was. He guessed that this was why it was like. He smiled, and laughed to himself. If this was what love was like, he never wanted to get rid of it.

* * *

Ness was sitting in his favourite tree, outside of the headquarters. He sat on his usual branch, leaning against the trunk, which had various gashes and scars from him climbing up here so much. As he stared off into the night, he kept waiting for the sound of Paula's snarky voice coming from the bottom, followed by her boots scraping against the bark as she climbed up to join him. But of course, she never came. And she never would again.

Ness looked down at the green, dirtied jacket he wore. Hinawa had told him to wear it, and the answer for where Claus' memories were would come to him. It had been two days since then, and he'd gotten nothing. He sighed. He needed help.

"Hey, Jeff. Hey, Paula," Ness called out into the empty air. He looked up at the stars, "I kinda need your help. Mainly yours, Jeff. You see...the Commander needs my help, and I need the USB with his old self in it to do it. So...could you maybe help me out? Give me a hint? Something?" He asked. He almost expected a reply from Jeff, telling him that he'd never give the location of the USB away.

Ness sighed once more and shifted around on the branch to get more comfortable. It was worth a try, asking–

Wait.

Ouch, what was that?

Ness felt a jabbing pain in his side upon settling down. He guessed one of the tree branches had stuck into him. He felt around to break the branch, but there was no branch.

Only a pocket.

Ness' eyes widened. He'd never seen this pocket before! He hopefully dug around until his fingers clasped something hard and metallic.

His froze he couldn't bring himself to take it out.

Ness knew exactly what it was.

"Aw, Jeff…" He grinned, taking out the treasured USB that he'd been searching for. It felt like the most precious object he'd ever held. Technically, it was. He was holding someone's entire life. Every single happy moment, every single injury, accomplishment, regret...all packed into that tiny little stick that he held in his hands. Attached to the drive was a piece of crumbled up paper. Ness smoothed it out enough to read it.

 _Dearest Nesley,_

 _If you're reading this, I have been killed by his Highness' order. From the moment that your Commander first mentioned that stray memory that I couldn't remove, I knew he would say something that would get me into serious trouble. So I knew that there was no point in trying to hide this from you anymore; you probably go searching for it anyway. I realized that if you and Paula are to escape and live normal lives, the Dark Dragon must be used for good. I guessed that...if you return Claus' memories of his past self, perhaps he won't want to pull the needles anymore, allowing Lucas to pull it himself, and the world can be saved._

 _What you do with this is your choice. Please take good care of this. I'm counting on you, Ness._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Jeffrey Andonuts._

As Ness read the final words of Jeff's note, his eyes stung. His friend's neat, flawless handwriting summoned tears to crawl down his face.

"Jeff, oh my god…" Ness choked in a mix of a happy and sad voice. The bittersweetness of the whole situation made him confused. But nonetheless, he grasped the USB tightly. Jeff's death wouldn't be in vain, as long as Ness did his absolute best.

He was able to defeat the pure sense of evil when he was thirteen. Surely, this mission would be far easier.

"This is gonna be easy!" He said confidently, as he slid off of his branch and used his wings to catch himself before he hit the ground.

* * *

" _This is so fucking hard."_

Ness was sitting at the desk in the planning room, maps and order sheets scattered around. It had been three days since he'd obtained the USB, and still no luck. Every day, he tried to get his Commander alone, in order to explain the situation, then forcefully knock him out and replace the USB drive.

But every time he got close to him, the Commander would make some wild excuse for why he needed to leave. Ness was a little disheartened by this, it seemed that he was being avoided. But he didn't let it stop him from trying. He was _so close,_ so close to getting Claus back to normal.

He wondered what his actual personality was like. Was he more on the quiet side, or was he the exciting type? Ness hoped they had at least something in common, because the first thing he'd do is try to befriend him. Then again, Claus would probably still obtain the artificial memories given to him when he arrived, so he'd probably remember Ness anyways.

"Aaaaaaagh! This is so _stressful!"_ He cried, hitting the wall beside him in frustration. The sudden cold sensation on the back of his neck told him that Hinawa had returned.

"We could always go with my original plan." She suggested, her wispy voice panning from left to right.

"Or maybe we could _not!_ I am a sophisticated, proper young man, who is in charge of an entire army! Thus, I will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever –"

"Are you saying my son isn't good enough for you?" Was Hinawa's dramatic interruption.

"What?! No! You're son is perfect, I just...don't want to kiss anyone. It's weird, and gross, and... _weird..._ and... _gross."_

"You're such a baby. So you're basically ignoring a perfectly good plan, that could _save the world_ , but you won't do it because it's gross and weird?"

"Yes."

"Oh, come _on!_ It is so much easier than what you're trying to do now. I'd prefer if you didn't nearly kill Claus trying to replace the drive."

"What other choice do I have, though?"

" _My_ plan!"

Ness looked down and thought to himself. Hinawa was right, it was highly unlikely he'd be able to simply use the USB, as his Commander was obviously avoiding him. But it was so _unsanitary_ , and _unprofessional._ But nonetheless, he sighed in defeat and nodded his head.

"Alright, fine. If, and _only_ if, push comes to shove, and I can't get his memories back via USB, I'll do it.I'll...I'll kiss him." Ness gave in, getting a victory ' _yay!'_ from Hinawa. A moment later, she left.

" _Fuck!"_ Cursed Ness, smacking himself lightly. What had he gotten himself into?

And as if his guardian angel flipped him off and split, Ness only began to see his Commander less and less. As each day passed, he lost more and more hope. He still remained unsuccessful. As the date for when the final needle would be pulled grew closer, Ness panicked more and more. It seemed as if the more he tried, the more he failed.

One day, as he walked down a hallway, he thought of simply giving up. Maybe Hinawa was right. Maybe her plan was the only plausible one. However, his hope came back when he spotted a familiar head of red hair.

"Your Highness! Your _Hiiiighness_! _I need to talk to you! Hold up!"_ Ness called, causing the other to turn around.

"Oh! H–hello! General…! What...what do you need?" Asked the Commander, who fidgeted nervously.

"Something super important! C'mere!" Ness ran up to him, smiling. _Finally._

"...What do y–" The other never finished his sentence, for Ness then pressed two fingers to the side of his neck, then muttered a quick spell. A small jolt of PSI Thunder could help, he thought. As he expected, his Commander immediately blacked out and fell to the ground, limp. Ness stooped down, pleased. He turned the other over until he was face down, then took the USB drive from his pocket.

"Oi! What're you doing?!"

Instinctively, Ness stuffed the drive back into his jacket and spun around, just in time to see two soldiers running up to the scene. They gasped upon seeing their Commander, unconscious.

"I didn't do this, I found him like this!" Claimed Ness. One of the soldiers frowned at him and grabbed him by the arms, and held them behind his back.

"You think we're just gonna ignore the static in your hair? You used PSI Thunder on him! You tried to murder him!" The soldier accused, keeping an iron grip on Ness' wrists.

"What?! N–no! You don't understand! I was trying to _revive_ him with PSI Thunder! I promise!" Ness desperately cried, twisting around, trying to break free. As he was forcefully dragged away, he saw his Commander slowly sit up. He sighed in relief.

"Sir! It's me! Tell them what happened!" Cried Ness. However, the Commander didn't say anything. He looked around, confused at where he was. Ness continued to shout for him, getting no response.

" _Claus!"_ He finally yelled as a last resort. His Commander snapped up to look at him. Ness only stared back in wonder. He had responded to the name Claus. Ness had to replace that USB. He found the ungodly strength to break free from the soldier's grasp and sprinted to his Commander, tackling him to the ground and pinning him down.

"What?! What are you doing?!" The Commander attempted to push Ness away, but the adrenaline rushing through Ness' body allowed him to easily overpower the other.

"I'm trying to _help you!"_ Responded Ness, reaching around to the back of the other's neck. Before he could pull out the drive that was already there, he was once again yanked back by several soldiers, and this time, they brought out the handcuffs. Ness struggled desperately against the cold metal, but to no avail. As he was dragged away from the scene, he hysterically shrieked at his captors to let him go.

"No! _No!_ This is for his own good! Let go of me! _Let go, I need to…! Claus!_ Listen to me! _Claus!"_

The Commander only watched as his General was violently pulled away. He got up from the ground and stood there in total shock. What had just happened? The echoes of screams faded, leaving him in silence. A few soldiers came running back suddenly.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" One asked.

"Hm? Oh, I'm...fine." Replied the Commander. He couldn't stop thinking about that name. The name his General had called him. _Claus._ He didn't know who the name belonged to, but it felt so familiar.

"That was quite the attack. I can't believe it, our General's gone mad." Breathed the soldier.

"Take me to him." Ordered the Commander, earning a gasp from the soldiers.

"...Sir?"

"Take me to him! Where was he taken?"

"Um...right this way…"

The group ran through multiple hallways until they reached various chimera containment cells. Multiple hybrid animals sat in all of the cages, except for the last one. That was where the General sat. The minute he looked up and saw who was there, he pressed his hands to the glass and shouted something muffled.

"It was the only place we could think of putting him. I knew he was strong, but I didn't think he had to be kept in a _chimera_ cell in order to keep him under control." The soldier explained. The Commander walked to the cell and stared sympathetically into the frightened, desperate eyes of the other. What had possessed such a calm and collected person to suddenly attack him like that? He knew his General would never do something such as that. Something was wrong.

He placed one of his hands on the glass, right where the General's hand was on the other side. Then, he leaned forward to touch his forehead to the surface.

Meanwhile, inside the cell, Ness did the same. The two sadly looked into each other's eyes. Ness hoped that his sorrowful gaze would be enough to say sorry. And to his surprise, his Commander gave him a small smile in response. As if he was saying, "It's okay, I forgive you." They stayed like that for a few moments, until the Commander pulled out his authority card and unlocked the cell. At this point, the soldiers, fearing for their own lives, quickly dashed out of the room.

Ness easily got out of the cell and shamefully looked at the ginger.

"Sir, I...if you knew what I was trying to do...I wasn't trying to kill you, I swear, I…" He looked down at the floor and bit his lower lip. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to meet the eyes of his Commander. He was shaken. He looked so calm, so peaceful.

"General."

"Yes, sir?"

The sudden hug surprised Ness. His Commander tightly wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close.

"I'm just glad they didn't hurt you." Murmured the Commander, burying his face into Ness' shoulder. Ness, who was completely bewildered, only hugged back in response. He hadn't felt like this in a long time. Sure, Paula would hug him all the time, but that was different, she was best friend. This time, it was someone he loved. Deep down, he wondered if maybe, perhaps, his Commander felt the same.

At this moment, despite how he felt about the subject, Ness wanted to kiss him. For once, he actually had the desire to do such a thing. But before he could make his decision, his Commander let go of him, but didn't say anything. The two simply stared into each other's eyes. Both, without the other knowing, were completely captivated. Ness was having an inner struggle with himself.

' _Go!'_ He told himself, ' _Do it! Kiss him! Do it, Ness! Do it, do it, do it…'_

He didn't do it. He couldn't. Instead, he volunteered to break the silence.

"Ahem," He began, "well, um...thank you for freeing me. Once again, I am sorry for attacking you." Said Ness, bowing his head in respect.

"It fine...except...why did you attack me in the first place?" Asked the Commander, putting a hand to the side of his neck, where a small bruise had formed from Ness' PSI attack.

"That's...actually something I can't tell you. It's really just classified information." Explained Ness. His Commander eyed him suspiciously, but sighed.

"Alright. If you don't want to tell me, don't tell me. But...there's only one bit of classified information that I want to know." He said, "Please, _please_ tell me what your name is."

Ness' heart filled with dread. He couldn't hide it anymore, there was no point in not saying.

"You have to promise not to mention it to anyone."

"Of course, you have my word."

"Right…" Ness sighed, "...my name is–"

" _Sir!_ Get away from him, he's dangerous!"

Both turned to look at the entrance to the room, where a cluster of soldiers crowded there, guns in hand and pointed at Ness. He took a few steps back, baring his fangs and growling in defense.

"What is the meaning of this?" Asked the Commander, drawing out his defense pistol and putting an arm in front of Ness.

"Sir, by the King's orders we must ask you to step away from the General. For your own safety." Informed the soldier in the front.

"What will you do to him if I do?"

"Well, we'll have to most likely execute him, depending on what the Master wants. That is the usual outcome for attacking the Second in Command."

" _No!_ I won't have it! If you want to kill him...well, you're going to have to kill me first!" The Commander aimed his pistol at the leading soldier, who looked terrified out of his mind. Ness looked at the Commander in utter shock. Was he really willing to risk his life?

"B–by the order of the Master, I insist you stand back!" The soldier told him, quivering in absolute fear.

"By the order of me, I insist you _fuck off!"_ The Commander shouted, before pulling the trigger and unleashing the bullet. It did not hit anybody; it didn't hit anything. Everyone stared in horror as the bullet simply hovered in midair, suspended by an aura of PSI.

"Such _violence._ Tell me, my Commander, when did you become so rageful?" It was the sickly sweet voice of none other than the King himself. He stood ominously at the entrance to the room, his black hooded cape covering his face. His hand was raised out if the sleeve with a green glow radiating about it. He shook his hand a bit, extinguishing the glow, and the midair bullet clanked to the floor.

"Y–your Highness…" The Commander nodded to him and bowed quickly. Ness did the same, as well as all of the soldiers. The King slowly walked to the two chimeras at the end of the room. Ness was still cowering, while the Commander still shielded him from whatever harm may come, still holding up the pistol. The King sneered at his shaking hands.

"Now, now. We can't have this, can we?" The Master slurred, gently taking the gun from the Commander's hand and tossing it aside. As it clattered to the floor, Ness felt his heartbeat quicken.

"Tell me, Factory Chimera #84459, and Factory Chimera #1. What are you doing?" The Master asked, crossing his arms.

"W–well...these savages just burst in here, threatening to kill the General! I had to take action, sir." The Commander explained, straightening his back and putting both hands behind his back. He wasn't _completely_ lying. The Master tipped his head to the side.

"Hmm? Is that really what happened?" He turned to the soldiers behind him.

"We...we were only following your orders, sir…?" One uttered.

"Idiots! I asked you to _look after_ them, not threaten to kill them!" Scolded the Master, shooing them away. He turned back to the two boys.

"I apologize for frightening you like that, they're morons. But I'm still concerned for you, Commander. You've never drawn a weapon on another comrade before." Inspected the Master.

"I'm sorry for that, I was very scared for the General's life, you see." Replied the Commander, gesturing to Ness.

"I see. That's very honourable of you. You must feel very safe with him around, General." The Master guessed. Ness looked at him, then to the Commander, then to the ground.

"Yeah...I guess." He admitted with a bashful grin. As the three left the room and the Master returned to his office, Ness and the Commander stood alone in the hallway, silent. Neither knew what to say. The tension grew as the silence dragged.

"I never thought you'd risk…" Began Ness, unsure of what to say next.

"I was just so afraid…" Was the reply.

"Afraid of me…?"

"No! I was, at first, but then...I was just afraid _for_ you…"

"I just…"

"I was so…"

"I'd never hurt you…"

"Yah, I know."

There was a shared, grateful smile between them. If Ness wasn't in love before, he definitely was now. Claus was finally returning. Ness couldn't wait to get to know him.

"Ne–I mean...General! We have a problem!" Panicked, rushed footsteps alerted Ness. He turned around just in time to catch Orange Kid from tripping by running too fast.

"Kid! What's wrong?" He asked, helping the scientist back up onto his feet.

"The...eighth...needle...Lucas is getting really close! He's gonna pull it before us!" Kid panted. The Commander narrowed his eyes.

"What?! How did he find it? General, assemble my troops, please. Change of plans, I'm going to it right now." He ordered, hurriedly walking to the main deck.

"Yes sir." Ness replied. He pulled out his radio and connected it to the intercom, "All soldiers who have been selected to accompany the Commander in pulling the eighth needle, report to the main deck immediately. We must hurry." Instantly, a large number of soldiers rushed past him. Because of the huge loss of soldiers from the previous raid, many of the civilians in New Pork City were captured and forced into joining the army.

Ness wanted to accompany his Commander on the journey, but he was required to stay behind and watch over the remaining soldiers. He sighed and began to walk away, until his heart suddenly dropped to the floor. He'd _completely_ forgotten about the USB.

"Shit! _Your Highness!_ Wait up, there's something that I need help with!" Ness cried, going down the hallway taken by his Commander. He came to a fork in the hallway, leading down three different paths. The first one was only for the Second in Command, the second for authority figures like Ness, and one for soldiers. A mere General was forbidden to go through the Commander's hallway, but he had no other choice. Fighting back all fear he had, he took the risk and ran into the first hall.

It was only about thirty seconds later when he finally caught up with his Commander.

"Sir! Please, listen!" Ness called to him, causing him to turn around, confused.

"General? You're not allowed here." Accused the Commander.

"I know, I know...but I had no other choice. There is something incredibly important I need from you."

"Quickly, what is it?"

Ness took out the USB from his pocket and held it up.

"I need to download this onto you."

"Why?"

"Because...because I have to, okay?"

"No! Every time I ask you something, you're not allowed to ever tell me! I've had enough of that! What's in the drive?"

Ness hesitated on his answer. The pulling of the needle would either result in two things. The destruction of the army, or the strengthening of it. But if Ness managed to restore the Commander's memories, it would end well either way. But if he didn't tell him what was in the USB, there was no chance his Commander would accept it. Thus, he took a deep breath.

"This drive contains you. The _real_ you."

"What do you _mean?_ "

"Listen, your are this boy! You are the boy that has been saved onto this USB! You were once a human."

" _What?!"_

"I know it's hard to believe, but hear me out. You haven't known me for fifty years, you've known me for three. And you have only been alive for thirteen years."

"General, I–"

" _No!_ You used to be a human boy named Claus Dolray! You lived in a small village called Tazmily, with your brother, Lucas! The one who's trying to pull the last needle!"

" _What do you mean?!_ That's idiotic, I was manufactured here!"

" _No you weren't!_ I was there, okay?! I was there when they brought your body into the laboratory after they found you!"

"That is impossible! I don't know what you saw, but there is no way I'd _ever_ stoop so low as to be a human!" Shot back the Commander.

" _But that's who you used to be!_ Who you could be again, if you just let me download this onto you!" Pleaded Ness. He walked forward and held up the USB, which was pushed away.

"No! Why are you telling all this _false information?!"_

"Because it's not false, and you deserve to know!" Insisted Ness.

"Even if this is true, even if I am Claus, why did you wait until _now_ to tell me if you knew all along?!" The Commander turned around and began to walk away.

"Because they would've _destroyed_ you!" Ness shouted, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him back around.

"Who _cares?!_ Why do you care?! There's _hundreds_ of chimeras just like me!"

"Because out of all of them, _you're the one I fell in love with!"_

There was a long, torturing silence, each moment without a voice making a new wound. Ness took a moment to realize what he had just confessed. He looked up to meet the eyes of his stunned Commander. His gaze had a mixture of anger, confusion, and regret.

"Wait...no, I…" Ness attempted to patch up his mistake. This didn't work, as his Commander simply turned away, unable to look at him. Ness saw his hands ball into fists, and his shoulders hunch. Had he offended him?

"Give me the USB." Was all the Commander said. Ness felt a small pang of hope, thinking that he'd succeeded in convincing him. However, upon handing it to him, Ness watched in horror as it was thrown against the floor, only to shatter into multiple pieces.

" _No!_ That...that was the only...what have you done?!" Cried Ness, falling to his knees and pathetically gathering up the pieces. Everything, his whole plan, his whole _life,_ was falling apart. He stared up hopelessly at his Commander, who had turned around at that point, only to see that he had tears streaming down his face.

"For so long, I had felt the same!" He said, "For so long, I thought that I'd finally found someone that I was meant to be with! I thought I loved you! But now, I've seen who you _really_ are...someone who tried to convince me to become someone else!" He cried.

"N–no...wait…" Ness tearfully whispered.

"Now...if you'll excuse me...I'll be on my way." The Commander turned back around and began to walk away again. Ness watched him go, as if he was watching his whole world fade away. He collapsed to the floor in a fit of sobbing, grasping the pieces of the broken USB so tightly, they ripped through his gloves and drew blood from his hands. That was his only chance in saving his Commander, and now, it was gone.

But suddenly, he remembered plan B. Of course! Ness scrambled to his feet and sprinted in order to catch up with his Commander.

"Wait! Wait! I know how to help!" He called.

"No! Don't follow me!" The Commander ordered. Ness ignored him and continued to run, until he eventually caught up with him. Upon reaching his Commander, he grabbed him by the shoulders and forcefully turned him to look him in the eye. The Commander struggled a bit, but Ness held on tight. He couldn't screw it up.

"What are you–! Mmph…!"

He was easily silence by Ness suddenly cupping his face, hesitating, then lunging forwards to quickly close the gap between them. It was uncomfortable at first, but Ness slightly tilted his head to save the hassle. The Commander was unsure of what to do at first. His first instinct was to pull away, but something stopped him from doing so. He raised a hand to attempt to slap the other, but something stopped him from doing that as well. Instead, he rested that hand on the other's shoulder.

Ness' mind was clouded. He had grown up with the idea that kissing was a gross, unnecessary thing. But now that he was actually _doing_ it, he wondered why he would even think that in the first place.

The two stayed like that for several moments. At one point, they each pulled away for air, only to resume directly after. Neither knew what to do. But then again, neither wanted to move. Both knew they had to stop at one point, but neither wanted to. It was only until the lights suddenly shut off in the hallway when they finally broke away from each other. It wasn't pitch black, so they could still see.

"The ship...it's landing! I have to go." The Commander realized. Before he managed to run away, Ness grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"I'm coming with you." He decided.

"No! It's too dangerous."

"Exactly, which is why I'm coming, so I can protect you."

"Listen...I understand that your job is to protect me. I'm not saying I'm not grateful, because I am. But...now, it's my turn to protect you. And to do that, I have to ask you to stay here." The Commander said, taking both of Ness' hands in his own. He gave him a quick smile, before dashing off, out of sight. This time, Ness didn't follow him. He simply watched in awe. Stunned, he lifted his hand up to his lips and touched their surface gently. It was almost unreal, knowing that just a few moments ago, his own mouth was touching someone else's.

He was so relieved. He knew that Hinawa's plan had worked, for when be looked into his Commander's eyes for those last few moments before he ran off, he saw love. Real, actual love, that he'd seen before. He'd seen it in Paula's eyes as she slowly died just a few days ago. He'd seen it in his mother's eyes when he said Goodbye to her upon leaving to join the army.

He knew that he'd restored the memory of love in his Commander. Now, all he had to do was preserve it. So against the Ginger's wishes, Ness sprinted down the rest of the hallway and onto the main deck. He'd keep himself hidden.

* * *

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little brat who's been sabotaging my plans, and his pathetic friends. We meet once again, Lucas. And this time, it's our final meeting."

The Commander stepped forward, his specially crafted sword in hand. It glimmered with a blade constructed entierly out of pure PSI energy. The glow coming from it illuminated his face, making him seem all the more threatening. Lucas put on a brave face and stared down his opponent, a cluster of sparks and flashes surrounding his hand. The two circled each other for what seemed like ages, waiting for one to make the first move.

Meanwhile, Ness watched from above. Thanks to his wings, he managed to hover high enough so that he was out of sight. The sanctuary for the needle was large, dark, and cavernous. The needle itself glowed brilliantly from its podium in the ground, begging to be pulled out.

Ness was truly only there to make sure his Commander would survive. The needle, he wasn't so concerned about. He'd fixed that problem (making him blush just thinking about it), it was Claus' life he feared for. Suddenly, he was startled by a sudden yell. Lucas jumped forward and called out a quick incantation, sending a wave of flames smothering the area in front of him.

The Commander easily dodged this, using PSI Shield in order to protect his body. The two engaged in a quick session of hand-to-hand combat, with quick movements the Ness was fairly impressed with. Punches were blocked and kicks were dodged, until Lucas grabbed hold of both of the Commander's arms and attempted to throw him over, however, the ginger (now wearing a protective helmet), charged up a quick blast of thunder, stunning Lucas for a few seconds, allowing him to break free of the grasp. The Commander preformed a quick spin-kick, knocking Lucas to the ground. He instantly pinned him to the dirt with his foot.

"Lookie here, Blondie. You're in trouble again, but this time, your friends aren't here to save you." The Commander gestured to the unconscious bodies of Kumatora, Duster, and Flint sprawled around the area. Lucas stared up at him, terrified, wincing in pain from the pressure of a combat boot pressing harder and harder on his chest.

Lucas' horrified eyes caught the Commander off guard. He stumbled back. Suddenly, even from the distance he was at, Ness saw his Commander's eyes. They were their usual dark red hue. His eyes were _green._

"... _Lucas?"_ Muttered Claus, quietly. However, he switched back to his previous state once he was kicked to the floor himself. His eyes returned to their red colour. Claus was gone again.

Ness realized that his Commander was slowly losing the battle, growing more out of focus than before. The small flashes of Claus became more frequent. So frequent that finally, the Commander dropped to his knees and panted. He was so confused. What was happening to him? Slowly and steadily, he grabbed the helmet on his head and hastily took it off, revealing his matted red hair.

Lucas staggered back, making a frightened cry. The Commander looked up at him, eyes full of bloodlust.

"You...you won't take this needle from me...I will _destroy you!"_ He shrieked, getting back up and sprinting towards Lucas in a blind rage. His attacks didn't even have technique anymore, he just swung randomly. However, Ness noticed something that wasn't happening before. Lucas was only dodging the attacks. He didn't even have his defensive PSI surrounding his hands, he just dodged. What was going on?

"Claus, it's me!" Lucas cried. The Commander groaned in frustration.

"Why do people keep _calling_ me that?! First, that random villger kid from Tazmily. Next, my own General, and now you!

"Don't you know who I am, though?! Look at me! It's me, Lucas!"

"Yes, I see you! The one who's been making my life a living hell for the last year or so!"

"No! I'm your brother! Your twin! Don't you remember?!"

" _Fucking_ god! No, I don't! Everybody is mistaking me for this 'Claus' person! Everybody's trying to convince me that I'm him!" The Commander shouted, attacking Lucas once more, who ducked quickly.

"Look into my eyes! It's me, Claus! You have to remember!" Pleaded Lucas. He ran to the other and grabbed his hands, trying to calm him down. The Commander struggled to free himself, but found himself unable. His hands suddenly felt cold. He looked down to see his hands encased in a capsule of ice. In the struggle, he'd accidentally triggered PSI Freeze.

"Claus." Lucas murmured in a hushed tone, "Claus, look at me." The Commander glared at him with confusion and anger. Suddenly, he stopped. He was no longer in the sanctuary. He was in a large, open field, completley smothered in sunflowers. He wasn't able to move, but he felt what he guessed to be a woman's hand caress his face from behind. Her sweet, flowery scent calmed him.

" _Claus, my dearest child. Remember."_

"Mom?"

Claus blinked. He was back in the sanctuary. The ice from his hands was melting quickly. He slowly glanced up to meet the gaze of his beloved twin.

"...Lucas?" He breathed, eyes wide open. He stood there, speechless, gawking at the environment around him. Ness watched from his hiding place, his heart warmed. _Finally_ , he thought.

"I...I remember everything…" Claus said softly, "I remember _everything!_ I remember you, and...and mom, and the village! The General was right, I wasn't manufactured! I'm a human, Lucas!" He cried, excitedly grabbing onto his brother's shoulders.

"Who...who was right?" Asked Lucas, overwhelmed. The light from Claus' eyes suddenly faded, and his smile fell. He looked down.

"My General. The...the army...I almost destroyed the world…" He realized, eyes wide with horror, "...Oh my god…" Claus sunk to the ground with a hand on his face. All of this information was too overpowering. He was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people...innocent people, that didn't deserve it.

Ness shifted, worried. He noticed a light eminating from Claus' hand.

"Oh no…" He muttered, making his way closer to the scene.

Claus feebly stood up, staring down at his hands, one of which was beginning to spark wildly.

"Your Highness!" Cried Ness, who attempted to fly over. However, the fear caused his wings to malfunction, and he fell with a grunt into the cluster of rocks below him. Immediately, he desperately clawed his way through. Meanwhile, Claus slowly lifted his hand to point two fingers at Lucas, who shook his head.

"Claus, no! I'm wearing a Franklin Badge, it'll just ricochet back!" He cried, wrapping his arms around himself. Meanwhile, Ness finally made it out of the rocks and was running as fast as he could to the brothers.

Claus had charged up a full Thunder attack. He eyed his brother, determined to finish what he started.

"Your Highness, stop!" Ness called. He wouldn't make it in time…

"Claus, please! Listen to me, if you shoot me will that, it'll just shoot back at you!" Begged Lucas. Claus looked at him with eyes filled with tears, and smiled.

"That's the point." murmured Claus.

" _Claus_ …?" Gasped Lucas.

"Commander! No!" Shouted Ness.

" _PSI Thunder_." Claus whispered.

It went in slow motion. The charged bolt of electricity shot from Claus' hand, and easily mirrored off of Lucas. As he stared death in the face, Claus closed his eyes and accepted fate.

Except… It didn't come. The attack hit a target, alright. But not the one Claus was expecting. He opened his eyes, just in time to see his dear General, falling to the ground from the impact he'd shielded him from.

" _General!"_ Shrieked Claus, kneeling down and lifting Ness up slightly. Ness felt electrical shocks run through his whole body, but despite the pain, he opened his eyes and smiled.

"General, listen...you'll be okay! Just breathe, don't try to speak!" Claus prayed, placing a hand on the side of Ness' face.

"Claus…" Ness rasped.

"Please…! Just...just breathe! PSI Lifeup...PSI Lifeup…! _Damn it! Why isn't it working?!"_ Claus shouted, unable to stop the tears. He buried his face into Ness' chest helplessly. During this, he savoured every heartbeat he heard.

"Claus...look at me…" Asked Ness, reaching up to rest his hand in the crook of Claus' neck.

"General, I'm so, so sorry...this is all my fault…" Claus choked.

"Ssh...none of this was your fault. Claus, please fell me. What do you think I love the most about you?" Quizzed Ness, his voice broken.

"Heh...I don't know, what?" Replied Claus, mustering a smile.

"Your eyes. They were nice before...but now, seeing their true colour...they're beautiful." Said Ness, stroking Claus' hair. Claus leaned in to his touch.

"No…" Claus silently weeped.

"There's something I've wanted to tell you...ever since I first fell in love." Ness told him, wiping away one of Claus' tears.

"What?" Asked Claus, with a pained laugh.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

"I've been subjected to a life of being an emotionless, empty shell. I thought I'd lost any ability to be happy, but then...when I realized I loved you, I couldn't believe it. Thank you, Claus. Thank for making me feel human again." Thanked Ness, who was beginning to cry as well.

Claus began to say something, but Ness silenced him with a raised hand. Slowly, he leaned as far up as he could, before softly kissing him. It was shorter than before, but more passionate this time. When they pulled away, Ness' body had taken a translucent appearance.

"W–what's happening to you?!" Fret Claus.

"I'm going to be okay...I'm teleporting. But I promise, Claus. I promise that in the future, sooner than you think, We will meet again." Promised Ness. Claus began to protest, but he stopped. Instead, be simply nodded. It was painful just to let his General go like that, but he trusted his promise.

"I love you." Claus sobbed. As Ness' figure grew less and less visible, he have him a signature half-smile.

"I love you too."

And we was gone. Tiny particles of PSI debri scattered. Claus, heartbroken, grabbed for them, in a pathetic attempt to bring Ness back. He hugged himself tightly, devastated. Lucas, who had watched the whole ordeal compeltley shocked, kneeled down and put a hand on Claus' shoulder.

"Hey," He said, "you heard him. He promised he'd come back, yeah?"

"Yah, but...I can't stand not seeing him…" Claus told him. Lucas stood up and assisted his weak brother in doing the same. Together, they walked to the needle, which still sat there, glowing. The brothers looked at each other, smiled, and nodded. Each put on hand on the needle's handle and pulled it out of the Earth. A deep rumble echoed from around them.

"Well, there's the dragon." Said Lucas.

"Yep. So I'm guessing your first order for it is to…?"

"Destroy the PigMask Army and save the world? Yes." Answered Lucas. Behind them, Kumatora, Duster, and Flint all began to stir. The reunion between Claus and Flint was tearjerking enough to make Kumatora cry, and hearing about the exchange between Claus and Ness made her cry even harder.

The group assisted Claus back up to the surface, where the clouds had turned black and the wind blew fiercely.

" _Master Lucas, Master Claus. In return for freeing me from the needles, I am your eternal servant."_ Came a deep, booming voice, " _What is your first command_?"

Lucas turned to Claus, who shook his head.

"I think I've had enough with telling people what to do for now. You do it." He insisted.

"Nooo, come on! You just went through hell! You do the first one." Protested Lucas.

"Here, how about we both make one. Together."

"Sounds like a plan!"

* * *

As Ness sat, pretending to meditate, he though about all the events that had happened. News spread quickly about the defeat of the PigMask Army. The soldiers who worked there had scattered, and gone back to a normal life. And of course, the names 'Lucas and Claus' spread like wildfire. The twin boys known as the ones who saved the world.

"Ness, I can tell you're not actually meditating." Said the person beside him.

"Heh...sorry, Pu." Apologized Ness. He turned to his friend, who he'd found after teleporting. He had recently become the King of the country he lived in.

"Let's stop for today. Very nice work." Said Pu, standing up and stretching his limber body. Ness nodded to him in thanks, and followed him to the house Pu lived in. Ness paused, looking around. He'd never felt happier. With Pu's help, he had easily gotten back into shape. His skin returned to it's natural colour, and Pu even provided him with the famous striped shirt that had served Ness so well in his past adventures.

His thoughts wandered to Claus. He couldn't wait to see him again.

"A proper General never gives up on his Commander. " He whispered, as if speaking to Claus directly, "I promise, I'll soon be at your service."


	10. Epilogue

It was two years later.

Claus, who was still sixteen due to age blockers, stood on the back porch of his house, admiring the scenery of the Sunshine Forest. This was his favourite spot, a place where he could be alone and peaceful. The villagers had happily welcomed him back into the village, despite knowing that he'd taken part in kidnapping them.

Flint, sadly, passed away the previous year due to old age. However, the two brothers, Lucas and Claus, lived happily together in their farmhouse on a cliff. He sighed and stretched his arms above him, groaning in satisfaction. Claus made his way down the hill and into the main part of the village, saying hello to every passing villager. He continued walking until he stopped in front of Hinawa's grave. Claus often wondered if he should make a grave for Ness. It had been two years, and he still hadn't returned. Claus had given up, and he finally assumed he was dead.

However, on that spring day, that changed. Claus sat at his mother's grave, laying down an offering of flowers he'd picked earlier. However, behind him, a loud warping noise alrted him, and a few footsteps. Upon sending the strong PSI aura, Claus smiled. It was him.

"Claus Dolray." Said the spunky, warm voice behind him. Claus stood up and turned around, not surprised to see his beloved standing there. He put a hand on his hip and grinned smugly.

"Mister General." He approached Ness and winked at him.

"Don't _call_ me that, honestly." Snickered Ness, lightly pushing Claus.

"That reminds me, I _still_ don't know your name." Reminded Claus. Ness scoffed.

"If I told you," He said, wrapping his arms around Claus' waist and touching his forehead with his own, "you'd probably just fall harder for me and my charming good looks."

"You wish," Sneered Claus, snaking his arms behind the other's neck, "Come on, I'm curious. Introduce yourself."

"Call me Ness. Ness Wyman." Was the answer.

"Ness...interesting name. I like it." Said Claus, teasing Ness' lips with his finger.

"I knew you would," Replied Ness, blinking affectionately, "I missed you. I'm never leaving you again."

"Damn right you'll never leave me again. I was so bloody lonely all the time, and annoyed with my brother's constant talking. Hopefully I can put up with your 'stubborn- _ness_." Claus smirked.

"I'm swooning, you're just so funny. Pucker up, lover boy."

Claus felt himself fall back from the sudden force of the kiss, but let himself lay back with Ness' body pressed against him. He grabbed a handful of the other's black hair and ran his fingers through it. Completely captivated by the other's lips against his own, he let his eyes close and his tongue do as it pleased. At this point, nothing mattered.

All that mattered was that they were finally together. They were no longer two professional, cold-hearted leaders of an army. For all they cared, they were just two horny teenagers in love. And they were perfectly happy with that.

They broke apart after a while, nothing but a wet, translucent strand connecting them. For a while, they just laid there, gazing at each other with barely open eyes. Finally, Claus decided to speak up.

"Hey, Ness?"

"Hm?"

"Now...this is just me, but _maybe_ in front of my mom's grave isn't the best place to do this?" Claus sat up and gestured to the tombstone before them.

"Oh...hey, look at that. You know, it's funny that this is the first thing you think of doing after us reuniting about two years after escaping a life of hell." Ness said, finally noticing the stone. Claus grabbed his shirt collar and longingly eyed him.

"What can I say? I'm a thirsty boy. Maybe...let's take this somewhere else, my General?" Claus grinned, eyes narrowed suggestively. Ness stuttered, embarrassed, but finally got ahold of his words.

Ness purred, "At your service, my Commander."

 **The End**

* * *

 **Geez, Claus. Your boyfriend comes back from the dead after two years and the first thing you wanna do is fuck him. Anyways...leaving that subject alone, thank you for reading this fic! It's pretty short, I know. My fics in the future will be longer, I promise. I'm better at writing short stories than long stories.**

 **So now that this fic is done, be sure to check out my newest one, "Plot Twist". This one is a NessCas one this time. :)**

 **Remember, if you are ever in need of a fanfiction cover, I am a decent artist who is willing to do them free of charge! You can either PM me or email me at prettiestboyfelix for more information.**

 **For a sample of what my art looks like, here's my DeviantART:**

 **Cheers,**

 **-Felix**


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